Music Will Tie:Sequel to Music Inside
by Emi Hikari
Summary: One year later...and still the two are separated.  Eden will do whatever it takes to get him back, even risking her own life, just to get over the hurt.  But a lot can happen in a year...
1. Intro & Chapter 1:  Ichinen

Music Will Tie-Sequel to Music Inside ( video . google . com/videoplay?docid=-7178716063895106901#)

Intro

Memo: Well, we're back! This is everything you absolutely have to know in order to read this story, so continue on. Thanks much. ;)

Name: Eden Alexandria McClain

Age: Nineteen

Likes: dancing, modeling, herself (XD), Zexion with all of her heart, Kairi, Selphie, Riku

Dislikes: Axel, Lexaeus-now deceased, her own vanity

Summary: Trapped on Destiny Islands, Eden has been living out a full year alone without any word or sign of Zexion. Thanks to her new-found friends Kairi and Selphie, she is able to make a living doing what she always used to do-modeling. But she's beginning to grow tired of her old life, and she's going crazy without her boy around.

She's incredibly beautiful and she knows it, but lately she tries to hide it so no one will be attracted to her.

Chapter 1: Ichinen

Memo: I really like this story. I didn't used to, but I really honestly love it now. And if you didn't like it before, I think if you try this part, you'll appreciate it more. That's how I was. :)

"It's all a load of bull if you ask me," Kat said with a sigh, pressing the top of the beer bottle to her lower lip in thought. Eden looked back at her, unamused.

"What? What is?" Zach said, looking between Eden and Kat.

"She's still referring to that pay-raise, taxation garbage we were discussing earlier," Sam replied, looking at Eden for approval. She nodded once, taking a sip out of her third beer can. Or was it fourth? Did it matter? All she knew was that Kat was being a total loser, right in front of her two close gay friends and her beau. Therefore, Kat was going to receive ZERO tolerance from Eden.

"It's not garbage," Kat insisted, frowning. "And it affects you, too."

"Me?" Eden pointed to herself. "Please. As long as there are men in the world, my job is secure."

"If you can call dancing in the rain a job."

"It was _your_ idea."

"You could've said no."

"Hey, now," Matt said quickly, waving his hands at the two bickering girls. "Not the time, nor the place, Kat."

"Me?" Kat jumped to her feet, surprisingly quick considering how drunk she was. "_Me_? She started it."

"Even if I did, what are you going to do about it?" Eden said, smirking. "Your opinion has been thrown out. Done. Done. And done."

The three boys nodded in agreement.

Kat said nothing in reply, only scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Damn glad I drove myself," she muttered, grabbing her keys and stumbling outside.

"Kat, wait," Eden called out, still sitting cuddled in Sam's lap, her legs stretched across both Matt and Zach.

"Let her go," Zach said, frowning. "She's no fun anyway."

"Yeah, she wouldn't even sit on our couch of love," Matt added, winking at Eden. She winked back.

"Because nobody actually likes her," she declared, sitting upright and finishing off her last beer. "Either way, she _is_ my roommate, and I probably should be nice so she doesn't mess with my shit."

"Don't leave," Sam insisted, trying to pull Eden down by the arm. But he was more drunk than she was, and she knew it.

"I'll call you in the morning," she told him with a curl-at-the-ends smile. "Bye, guys."

Each of them muttered a goodbye as she followed Kat out of the house.

The night was cool and a little foggy, but Eden didn't mind it. She was more concerned with making up with Kat so she didn't have to worry about her squealing to her parents. That would lead to some trouble Eden didn't want to deal with.

Her car shuddered to life, and to Eden, the steering wheel seemed farther away than usual.

"Whatever," she grumbled, putting her car into drive.

Slowly she drove down Sam's street, back toward the main roads. Right turn, left turn, around a roundabout, then follow the highway home, back to the dorm. Eden knew those directions by heart.

"I need some music," Eden muttered to herself, turning on the radio. An angry rock song burst in through her speakers. She screamed with the singer her own words. "I HATE KATH-uh-RYN PATTERSOOOON!"

Suddenly her voice and her radio mixed with the sound of a truck honking. Eden blinked, and then the whole world became red.

_Oh_, she thought, her body pinned between her steering wheel and her seat. She felt no pain, but there was blood everywhere. _Whose blood is that? Is it mine_?

Eden tried to turn her head, but she was numb. Everything was stained crimson.

_I'm sorry_, she thought, closing her eyes. Her head began to throb with intense pain. _I...I'm dying, aren't I? Did I have to go like this? So soon_?

Her arm fell limp, and she swore she heard a scream.

_What have I done? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I want to help you, but first you have to help me_...

But the reality of it was that nobody helped me, and I died. That memory had been haunting my dreams since I came to Destiny Islands, reminding me how simple it was for life to end.

I had been on the islands for a little over a year now, which meant I hadn't seen Zexion in over a year. Had it been anyone else, I would've let him slip out of my memory. But he...was different.

Zexion was different in a _lot_ of ways. He was the first person I'd ever met outside of my family that was willing to protect me and dirty his hands for me. He also was the first man I honestly loved with every fiber of my being. I could never let myself forget him.

Besides, there was no way I was going to give up quietly without knowing if he even felt the same way, right?

But...I am ashamed to say I fell right back into what I feared I might: modeling. Though I was treating it a little differently this time around; I was aiming to be more conservative than my previous career. So far it was working, but I still wasn't happy.

Even with new friends at my side, friends who were way nicer than Kat and Chelsea, I couldn't be happy. I desperately wanted him, and he was out of reach. I didn't know where he could be, but I prayed we might find each other again.

Kairi and Selphie kept me company otherwise. Thanks to them, I had a house-one that had been abandoned for no good reason-and a job, and friends. They gave me something to do on the weekends besides get wasted.

"Ready to go?"

I turned around to see said red-head and dirty-blonde waiting for me. Nodding, I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, let's go," I murmured, following them off of the beach.

"TGIF, right?" Selphie chirped, swinging her school bag enthusiastically.

"I know," Kairi said, sighing.

"You don't sound relieved," I pointed out. Kairi blushed a little.

"Well, I am, but..." She sighed again. "It's been a long week."

_Heck yes it has_, I wanted to say. _One out of fifty-three_.

"Now, gentlemen, this is the moment we've been waiting for," Xehanort said, smiling darkly. He looked at his five followers, one at a time, just to check their loyalty. No gaze faltered, so he continued. "Let us see what others have dared not to see! Ienzo!" He motioned to the teen, who raised his only working eyebrow. "...Whenever you're ready."

Hesitating, Ienzo placed his hand on the switch, then pushed it down.

"Yes..." Xehanort breathed as the machine came to life. "Yes!"

"It's actually working," Braig said with a laugh. "Who would thunk it."

Just as they had hoped, a Heartless soon materialized before them.

"Just think..." Even said with a sly smile. "With artificially created Heartless, who knows what we could uncover!"

Ienzo looked at the Heartless. It was different than the other Heartless, but it didn't look too menacing...or convincing. In fact, it looked almost harmless.

As if to prove Ienzo wrong, the Heartless suddenly sprung to life, jumping on Xehanort and clawing into his chest.

"Oh crap," Dilan muttered, backing away.

"Ienzo, the machine-" Even began, but two more Heartless appeared, attacking just as the first one had.

His heart racing, Ienzo gripped the switch tightly and tried to push it into its reverse position, but it wouldn't budge.

"Elaeus!" he cried, turning to his beefy friend. "Help me!"

Storming over, Elaeus forced the switch up, but halfway through it made a snapping sound, and the handle broke off into his hands.

"What have we done?" Even murmured as the Heartless forces grew.

Terrified, Ienzo backed against the wall, curling into a ball by the machine.

"This can't be happening..." he gasped through the others' cries of defeat.

When he lifted his head, Elaeus was standing in front of him, fighting off the Heartless with his strength.

"Good. You're back," the burly man said. "Now help me."

"..." Getting to his feet, Ienzo looked around the room and spotted the bookshelf.

"I knew this would be useful someday," he chuckled, grabbing Ansem's encyclopedia.

Suddenly Elaeus let out a cry as a gang of the multiplying Heartless brought him down, swarming him.

"Geez..." Ienzo sighed, beating each approaching Heartless. "I'll do this all night if I have to!"

He then felt a clamp around his neck, and something on his back.

_No_! he thought, his mind racing as he dropped the book. _Why is this happening_?

Ienzo fell to his knees, completely surrounded by Heartless.

_Why did this happen? What good can come out of this? Will I ever_-!

"How ya doin', Zexion?"

Opening his navy eye, Zexion stared into the face of Axel, who wore a funny grin on his face.

"Good morning, sunshine," the pyro said, kicking Zexion in the face. Leaving Zexion to writhe in pain, Axel walked away, his back to his prisoner. "It's a lovely morning today. Too bad you can't see it, huh? Of course, you only have one eye to see with anyway, right?"

Axel laughed; Zexion simply felt around the inside of his mouth with his tongue, checking for broken teeth. All good.

"Too bad we're not human. We can't fully appreciate it anyway, right?"

Pushing himself upright, Zexion glared at Axel.

"Well, que sera, sera. I'll see ya later, Zexy. Try not to fall asleep again."

As soon as Axel was out of sight, Zexion sighed in relief.

"You're here again, aren't you?" he said into the air.

Without a word, another cloaked figure stepped into the jail cell, holding a bag in his hands.

"When will you tell me who you are?" Zexion asked, holding out his chained hands. The man shrugged, emptying the bag into Zexion's oustretched palms. An assortment of small foods tumbled out.

"Thank you," Zexion said after he had finished eating. "I don't know why you come here, though."

Axel still thought Zexion was a Nobody, so he felt no need to give him food or water. For the first week of his captivity, Zexion starved in silence, slowly withering away until he was almost dead. Then, out of nowhere, this man showed up with food and water. He saved him, but for what good reason?

"Who are you?" Zexion asked again. "I know you're not a Nobody."

"..." The man lowered his head slightly.

"It's not that I'm suspicious." Zexion shook his head. "I just don't understand why you would help me. Why are you doing this for me?"

"...I'm not doing it for you."

Startled by the man's reply, Zexion jumped to his feet, nearly tripping on the chains that surrounded him.

"...Then...who? Who are you doing this for?" Zexion could feel his heart racing. "Just who are you, anyway?"

The man paused, then turned away.

"You-you can't be-?"

Eden frowned at her reflection in the mirror.

_I need a haircut_, she decided, pulling on her fast-growing, light-brown hair. A sudden twinge of pain made her cringe. _Ouch. I must've pulled too hard_.

Immediately she thought of her days in Castle Oblivion and Zexion.

_Why was I even there to begin with_? she wondered, sighing. _Oh yeah...Riku. I wonder whatever happened to him_.

Another twinge of pain.

_But wait-there was another boy_.

Her heart beginning to pound, Eden shook her head quickly and walked out of her bedroom and into the adjacent room.

_I don't know why I just remembered that_, she thought, massaging her temples. _How could I have forgotten? ...Well, it's no big deal now. This room always calms me down_...

She smiled as she walked through the dimly lit room, gently tracing her fingers on the desk and bookshelf. It was obviously a boy's room, probably a teenager, but not too old. Eden assumed there was also an older brother in this family; his bedroom was across the hallway, and the stuff in that room was a lot more mature.

_Whoever used to live here was the nerdiest kid in existence_, she thought, laughing quietly. _Just look at all of these books! And these notes...and so many little experiments. He must've been his parents' pride and joy_.

Eden opened the closet door, grinning.

_Look at these old clothes. He must've been made fun of a lot_...

Gently she filed through the countless striped shirts and polos.

_This house must've been empty for a long time_... she determined, rubbing the dust out of her eyes. _Everything is outdated. But I would feel awful if I moved this stuff. What if that person comes back? What would I say_?...

Throwing her thoughts out of the loop, a sneeze knocked Eden back out of the closet.

_Ow, my head_... She whimpered quietly, trudging back to her own room. _I just should sleep. Maybe I'll remember more about that other boy_.


	2. Chapter 2:  Fidelity

Chapter 2: Fidelity ( www . youtube . com/watch?v=wigqKfLWjvM&ob=av2e)

Memo: I love this story now. I'm in love with it. XD This is one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. But it's sad. :( Keep in mind that Eden doesn't think Zexion has a heart.

Eden's Pov

I thought that when I fell asleep, I had a massive headache. But then I woke up the next morning, and not only did my head hurt to the point where it hurt to see, but my sinuses were whack, and my throat was on fire. I couldn't even call my boss; Kairi had to do it for me.

"Are you sure you'll be okay here, all by yourself?" Selphie asked, her high-pitched voice more annoying than usual.

I nodded, my eyes closed, head surrounded by pillows.

"After school, we'll come check on you, okay?" Kairi said, placing her cool hand on my forehead. It felt good.

I nodded again, briefly opening my eyes to look at them. Such good friends...

"You'll get better soon! Just drink lots of water!" Selphie exclaimed, waving goodbye.

Closing my eyes, I felt my throat close up, trying to supress a sob. I was so lonely, and the fact that I had to spend all day in bed with nothing to do but think only intensified my feelings.

_Where are you, Zexion_? I wondered, clenching my fists tightly as tears rolled down my cheeks.

There were times when I felt so close to him, like he was actually there with me. I treasure those moments even now, too. But there were also times when I couldn't have felt any farther away if I had tried. Those moments were a lot more frequent.

I slept uneasily the entire day. I'm not sure if Kairi and Selphie really did come like they said they would, because I never opened my eyes again. It even hurt to blink.

Every once in a while, I would rub my temples to try to tame my headache, but instead my powers would provide a little ribbon of music. Sometimes the songs were so utterly appropriate, I felt even sicker. One of them was about how the singer "never loved nobody fully" and how she hears "all of these voices." It scared me and made me lonelier.

I thought that, after drinking lots of water and sleeping for most of the day, I would at least improve. But the next three days were spent the same way: in bed, sick, tired, eyes closed, lifeless. The fourth day I was sick, my boss called to say I was fired, and-as if I wasn't stressed and sick enough-everything plummeted downhill from there.

"What a bitch," Selphie said, sitting on my bed after she had called.

"I guess it's not her fault entirely," Kairi admitted. I could tell, even with my eyes closed, that she was frowning. "Eden, you've been sick so much this year, and now this..."

"Tomorrow, if you're not feeling any better, you're going to the doctor," Selphie said, almost as a threat.

_Darn it_, I thought. _I hate going to the doctor_.

"We'll come later tomorrow morning, though," Kairi added quickly. "Since it's Saturday, and I know _I_ wanna sleep in."

_Bless your sweet soul, Kairi_. I managed to smile a little; they seemed satisfied with that weak response.

"Have you eaten anything lately?" Kairi asked, pushing my hair off of my sweating forehead. She was so motherly~. Selphie thought so, too, apparently, and told her.

"Nah..."

It was silent, and Kairi suddenly gasped.

"That's right!" I felt the bed shift as she stood up. "Eden, I have to ask...do you know who Sora is?"

_Sora_... Boy, did that name sound familiar...

"You remember Riku, right?" Kairi went on. I nodded, smiling. Riku, the little, punkster, silver-haired heartthrob. Who could forget _him_? "Sora is Riku's best friend."

Suddenly the name clicked, and though I had never seen his face, all of the conversations I had ever heard about him came back to me in such a rush that I felt nauseous.

When I finally nodded, Kairi squealed.

"She knows him, too, Selphie!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. "Oh, Eden, I feel awful. I had forgotten all about him for a long, long time...I couldn't even remember his name, or what he looked like. But now..." Her voice trailed off. "...Eden, I think I...no. I _know_ I love him. I've got to find him again. Do you know where he could be?"

A frown made its way onto my face, and I shook my head slowly.

"Ah...well, it's okay."

_If it's any consolation, I know exactly how you feel_, I wanted to say, biting my lip gently.

"Kairi, we should get going," Selphie said suddenly. "Your mom wanted us home for dinner, right? It's Friday night."

Fridays were declared cuisine nights at Kairi's house-her foster mom was a bitchin' cook. Anyone could learn a thing or two from her.

"Oh, yeah. Right. Eden...I wish you could come, but you really need to get better, okay?"

I nodded once.

"Get well soon," the two girls said in unison.

When the door shut behind them, and I heard the sound of the front door slam shut, I knew it was safe to cry. It hurt, in more ways than just mentally.

"I know who you are now," Zexion said as the cloaked figure entered the room again.

"Oh?"

"You're Riku, aren't you?"

Riku gave a quiet, half-hearted laugh.

"I think I am still," he replied, handing Zexion food. "But I can never tell for sure."

Confused, Zexion narrowed his eye.

"Well, whatever." He immediately dismissed it. "But you're doing this for _her_, aren't you?"

"Yeah. So what?" Riku shrugged. "She saved my ass from you people; it's the least I can do for her."

"What good does keeping me here do? Can't you take me to her?"

"I could, but it's not worth the risk. Axel would catch us in a heartbeat." Riku laughed. "No pun intended."

Zexion didn't find it funny at all. "I'm not following your plan."

"If we can't get out on good terms, then that means someone else has to get _in_."

"You mean-"

"Eden is on Destiny Islands right now with my friend Kairi," Riku explained as Zexion ate. "I heard Axel muttering to himself, the sadistic freak. He wants to go there to get Kairi. But if Eden is as clever as we think she is-"

"She'll take Kairi's place," Zexion finished, frowning.

"Then I bring her here and we'll take care of Axel together."

"...How is she? Eden?" That name was like gold...

"I have no idea."

The two men were silent for some time. Then, without a word, Riku left.

_I wish I could carve the sound of your name into my memory_, Zexion thought, taking a knife and marking another tally on the wall. "_Eden_"...

Eden's Pov

Crying all night actually turned out to be a blessing. It loosened all of the mucus in my throat, ears, and nose, and it didn't hurt to breathe anymore. But my headache just kept getting worse, more and more centralized throughout the evening. By about eleven at night, I was energized enough to walk, eyes still closed, into the kitchen, take some pain relievers, and go to sleep.

Miraculously, the next morning, my headache was gone, as was my cold. I woke up with my face crammed into my pillow, my hair splayed all over. Pushing myself upright, my hair fell down in front of my face. Hesitantly, I slowly opened my eyes, blinking quickly.

"Too early..." I muttered, judging by the sunlight pouring in. "...Why can't I see?"

With a toss of my head, I tamed my hair back, and the sun shone on me.

"...Nn?"

For some reason, the left side of my vision was still darkened. Sometimes that would happen, if my eyelashes got caught together from dried-up mascara or something. I rubbed both eyes vigorously. But when I stopped, nothing had changed.

I don't know what made me decide to try looking in the mirror, but I did. Slowly I removed my hand from my left eye, not knowing what to expect.

Actually...I was expecting anything besides what I saw.

For a moment, I couldn't move, couldn't even breathe. My reflection...it wasn't me. My reflection was _him_.

"Oh...my..." I breathed, every muscle in my body tensing up.

I was blind. Just like him.

Just like Zexion.

All of the built-up energy in my body exploded into a scream. I can't say for sure what emotion it was supposed to express, considering how I was tangled in my emotions anyway. So I just kept screaming.

"Eden?" I heard Kairi's voice from the front hallway. But I couldn't stop shrieking. My hypocrisy had finally come back around to get me.

My bedroom door flew open, and Kairi and Selphie rushed in, stopping when they saw me clutching my face, tears falling into the carpet.

"Eden!" Selphie cried. Instinctively I looked up, and they both gasped.

"You-your eye is...?" Kairi breathed, walking over to me. I finally calmed down enough to stop screaming, but I was still crying.

"You're BLIND?" Selphie coughed out. My sobs came harder. I wanted to call them rude, but I couldn't, because they responded _exactly_ how I had. How could I blame them? Was I really so selfish?

"Selphie, we should take her to the emergency room," Kairi said, calming down rather quickly.

"Well, Eden, you said you know what you have," the doctor said with a frown as he directed a light into Eden's newly blinded eye.

"Yeah," she murmured, wanting to tear herself up.

"We don't," Selphie said impatiently.

"Could you explain what happened, please?" Kairi asked, a little more politely than Selphie.

"Eden, you said you were very ill just before this happened, am I correct?"

Without a word, Eden nodded, her only working eye falling to the ground. Kairi resisted shivering.

"The illness that she had corresponds with this permanent side effect," the doctor explained, switching the light over to Eden's working eye. "The nerves lock up around the face-it can be in the eye, the nose, the mouth, even just the eyebrow. It's not very common at all, especially nowadays." Lowering the light, the doctor glanced at Kairi and Selphie. "It's likely you two were vaccinated for it. But since Eden isn't from around here, she was unable to avoid it."

"..." Eden lowered her eye again, frowning deeply. She looked very pained, more emotionally than anything.

"So there's nothing you can do for her?" Selphie asked quietly.

"Unfortunately, no."

"How could she have caught it, though?" Kairi asked, frowning. "I mean, I don't know anyone who has it."

"The illness can be held in anything," the doctor answered, standing upright. "For example, if she were to have been exposed to, say, a photograph that someone with that illness had touched during the sickness, then she could catch it, too. Or, though this is unlikely, there is a certain mix of chemicals that causes the mutation."

Eden tensed up, remembering the boy's room with the experiments. _That room is toxic_?

"But it's already done the damage, and it won't do anything else unless you basically bathe in chemicals and disease. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will be back with your reciept, and you will be able to leave."

As soon as the doctor left, Eden, looked up at Kairi and Selphie, wild-looking.

"You know that room in my house," she began, "with the boy's stuff in it? There's a load of chemical shit lying around."

"You think that's what-"

"Maybe." Eden lowered her gaze again. "...The guy...I told you about..."

"Zexion?" Kairi asked.

"He has this disease, too."

"Is he blind, too?" Selphie asked.

"Yeah..." Eden huffed a sigh, trying to hold back tears, remain composed. "I never knew how much pain he was in until now. But I can't tell him I'm sorry now."

"You'll see him again," Kairi said. "Your hearts will bring you together again."

Chuckling quietly, Eden shook her head.

"Sorry, Kairi, but I don't think that's going to happen."


	3. Chapter 3:  I did it for love

Chapter 3: I did it for love. ( www . youtube . com/ watch?v=yDAIPaXn4Gk)

Memo: To start, I will now present a poem my friend wrote a few years ago...and I felt like parts of it were appropriate for this chapter.

"The Fairy Tale" -Bethany M. Stewart -Thanks, chica. ;D

There's a pretty little princess

Hiding in disguise

If you look close enough you'll see her

Behind those painted eyes

Look hard enough you'll see her

Broken by your lies

There's a pretty little princess

She hides behind the witch

But you can read her story

It's written with a twist

And if you really want to read it

Just look upon her wrist

There's a pretty little princess

Naive as she can be

But the witch with all her wisdom

Knows there isn't room for three

There's a pretty little princess

You just never knew

That when you broke the witch

You broke the princess too

And you just left them broken

Shattered without a clue

There's a pretty little princess

Left with no disguise

Such a sad ending for the girls

Too bad you put tears in painted eyes

By fooling both the princess and the witch

Into believing your sneaky lies

Flashback Start~

Staring out of her bedroom window, Eden wiped the tears off of her eye-liner stained cheeks. Her father had passed on, and somehow, it hurt so much more than it should've. Even though she and her father were never terribly close, his departure bothered her. Maybe it was moreso the way it happened.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Eden slowly turned her head, expecting to see her mother, but instead her gaze fell upon her sister, Eve.

"It hurts when you lose the love of someone you loved back," Eve hissed, glaring at Eden, obviously referring to the recent mishap with Grant.

"Still ringing the same funeral bells?" Eden asked, smirking. "I'll tell you again, Eve: if he fell away from you so easily, then it wasn' t meant to be in the first place."

Eve's gaze darkened.

"Someday you'll know what it felt like," she whispered, walking away.

"No, I won't," Eden declared, turning back to the window. Her mouth curled into a devious smile. "I won't ever let myself get so attached to someone. You're just jealous because you can't control people like I can. You're not beautiful like me, and you never will be. But me? I'm unstoppable. I'm invincible."

Flashback End~

_I'm anything but invincible now_, I realized, sitting on my bed with Selphie and Kairi on either side of me. _Look at me. I'm a freak_.

"Eden..." Kairi said, frowning. Her voice felt very distant.

"Does it hurt?" Selphie asked. I shook my head.

_Not in a way you'd be able to understand_, I imagined myself saying.

"Eden..." Kairi gently put her hand on my shoulder. "...I want to know more about this guy."

"Zexion?" I whispered, wanting to hit something.

"Yeah, me too." Selphie smiled. "If you want, I can give you a new hair cut in exchange."

Selphie was rocking her way through a cosmetology program while attending the local high school. I had to hand it to her-she really was hard-working, despite her immaturity sometimes.

"...Fine," I said, unable to resist the makeover. "You win."

Pursing his lips, Riku silently opened a portal back to Zexion's chamber...better called his prison cell.

_More news again_, he realized. _If she's as clever as I think she is, she'll be fine, and we'll see her as soon as tomorrow_.

Zexion lifted his head up quickly when Riku walked in.

"Well?" he croaked, his voice hoarse from lack of use.

"Axel is heading to Destiny Islands tomorrow," Riku stated, crossing his arms. "He's going after Kairi."

Zexion frowned in disappointment. "Huh, so then it's not-"

"Remember, Kairi and Eden are friends now. If Kairi is in danger, Eden's sure to come running, especially if it's Axel."

"Why him?"

"Why him?" Riku repeated, almost mockingly. "Well, I would love to explain, but it's definitely not my place to-it's Eden's."

Zexion sulked, slouching and curling into a ball.

"I'll be wandering around here tomorrow, then," Riku said, changing the subject. "When I find her, I'll bring her straight here."

Nodding, Zexion closed his left eye, sighing through his nose.

_And what if she doesn't want to see me again_? he wondered. _She just assumes things. But she has no idea what happened_...

"Thanks," Zexion finally murmured. Riku shrugged.

"I've told you before-it's not for you."

And with that last comment, Riku left through another portal.

_If she doesn't want me, she can have_ him, Zexion thought, letting out another sigh. _But...damn, I'd never forgive myself for how I treated her. If she comes, I want to apologize before I say anything else stupid_.

"Hello, Zexy, my fabulously friendly friend," came a voice, then scarlet hair and glowing lime eyes. "Howzitgoin'?"

Zexion didn't answer. He knew better than that by now.

"Thought I should visit you and tell you that tomorrow I'm bringing you a little roomie," Axel continued, smirking. "You know Kairi, right? Yup, Sora's girl! You guys'll get along great, considering how you have no heart! You'll understand each other brilliantly!"

Axel laughed at his own joke, then went silent.

"Don't even think about trying anything tomorrow," he growled. "I can come back as easily as I can leave."

I _won't try anything_, Zexion thought. _You should be talking to _Riku.

_Who are you_? Eden wanted to say to her reflection, with its newly-cut bangs, auburn hair and one crystal blue eye. _Where is Eden_?

"Do you like it, Ee-chan?(pronounced "eh-chan")" Kairi asked, smiling. "It looks so pretty on you."

"I think so, too," Selphie agreed, obviously proud of her hard work. "But it's up to you, Eden. Do _you_ like it?"

Eden peered at herself for a moment, then nodded.

"I really do adore it," she replied honestly. _I love the hair cut, but I hate myself_.

"Success!" Selphie cried, hi-fiving Kairi excitedly. "Thanks for the practice, Ee-chan!"

"Thank you for the free hair cut. And for listening."

The two teens quieted down, looking at Eden carefully, trying to read her emotions. But her calm exterior made it impossible to decide if she felt better or worse or the same as before.

Eden had managed to spill most of her heart out about Zexion, minus the scenes with his pretty little girlfriend. And while getting all of that information off of her chest felt good, it made her realized a few things about herself, and how the future could and probably would pan out.

"Darn it," Kairi said, checking her pastel pink watch. "I'm late. My mom said we'd go out to eat at four-thirty."

"It's five til five," Eden confirmed, glancing at the digital clock on her nightstand. "It's okay if you have to go."

"You sure?"

When Eden nodded, both Selphie and Kairi nodded back, smiling.

"See you tomorrow, then?" Selphie asked, her smile breaking into a grin.

"Sure."

The second the front door slammed behind them, Eden stood up from her chair so quickly that it toppled over, thudding onto the pale carpet. She gave it a rough kick backward, shoving it against the side of her bed.

"I hate you!" she cried, leaning into the mirror, staring at herself. "I never realized how much I hated you until today! I _HATE_ YOU!"

Wrapping her thin arms around all of her makeup, Eden shoved it all off of the vanity and onto the floor. She yanked open the drawers and dumped them out, as if furiously searching for something.

"Stupid!" she shouted, picking up handfuls of her thin shirts and pitching them across her room in a rage. "So stupid! How am I so stupid?"

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Eden tugged all of her covers off of her bed and onto the floor, kicking them around furiously. Reality had hit her hard:

"I'm _not_ beautiful!" she shrieked, falling onto the floor, dizzy from marching around in such anger.

Eden's Pov

Beauty was all I had ever had throughout my whole life. It was the only thing that ever identified me, the only thing that ever set me apart from anyone else. I was always the most pretty of all of my sisters and cousins, and at school, and as a model, and even at college. Everyone, boys and girl, gay or straight, thought I was the prettiest. And now...

Stumbling over to the mirror, I lifted my side-swept bangs to reveal the freakish eye, staring blankly into some distance I couldn't actually see. With this...how could I be beautiful?

I thought, at the time, that I couldn't ever be considered truly beautiful again. My modeling career was suddenly impossible to me. And with such a scar of deformity, how would Zexion ever accept me? After all, he had the same problem, and he hadn't accepted himself yet. So how in the world could he even think to accept _me_?

I let my bangs fall back over my eye, sobbing pathetically.

"I need you," I pleaded into the mirror, seeing Zexion in front of me instead of myself. I was so angry at myself. I had focused too much on myself and not enough on finding him. I had let myself forget.

_I will never forget again_, I decided, walking into my bathroom. _I will never let myself forget ever again_.

I had seen girls at my school do this hundreds of times, and I never really thought anything of it at the time, until now, as I pulled the blade out from my razor and placed it to my shoulder.

Maybe I'm just a slight masochist, but the pain felt right.

Maybe it was because of what I was carving into my skin: his name.

Never again I would I let myself be so foolish to forget him and the pain he felt too.

The next morning I awoke to a knock on my front door. It startled me so badly, I jumped up and fell out of bed, tangled in the sheets.

"Hold on a sec!" I called out.

"It's us!" I heard Kairi's voice reply. I could hear the smile in her voice. That was enough motivation to get myself up and going to the front door. I made sure to put on a long sleeve shirt, at least on that one side.

Consequentially, it was a black shirt, with a black skirt, and I think it concerned my young friends when I opened the door.

"...Hey," I said quietly. They only faltered a moment, both smiling.

"We're going out to lunch!" Selphie cried enthusiastically.

"Do you wanna come? We'll pay for you," Kairi said. That was pretty much a deal-sealer.

"...Sure," I replied. "Just one second."

I closed the door gently, running to get my shoes and brush my hair. It was already 11:30.

Somehow, I felt like no matter how much I got ready, I didn't feel prepared.


	4. Chapter 4:  They

Chapter 4: They ( www . youtube . com/watch?v=qSLvcJ4I1mw)

Memo: So...this song had a biiiiig part of planning the whole Eden and Zexion saga. I'm excited now that it finally has some significance. Who are they, you ask? Read, then think about it. If you were wondering if there were any transitional chapters in this story, this is it. If you can call it that... Ten chapters is the perfect amount without this being too stretched or anything. ;)

The three girls, now fully satisfied after a brilliant meal and some interesting conversations, slowly strolled down the stone-layed path through the residential area of Destiny Islands, heading toward Eden's house. Selphie and Kairi were grateful for one more day off, while Eden was busy thinking of a way to find a job, even with no skills to help her.

"Thanks for coming with us today," Kairi said as Eden's house came into view.

"No prob," she replied, smiling at the two. "Enjoy your day off tomorrow."

"We will," Selphie assured her, grinning. "If you want, we can stop by tomorrow, too."

"...Okay." After all, who else was going to keep her company?

"See you tomorrow, then," the girls said, waving goodbye as Eden opened the prim little gate to the front yard.

"See you," she murmured with a genuine smile, walking up to the front door.

The moment she locked it behind her, Eden burst into tears.

"I can't do this anymore!" she wailed into her hands, sinking down onto her knees. "I just can't! Where are you, Zexion?"

Her hands fell from her face to the carpet, her nails digging into the tiny fibers.

"How does Kairi _do_ it?" Eden wondered out loud after crying for a long time.

Just a while ago, Kairi had told Selphie and Eden of Sora, the one person she loved more than anyone in the universe. She had never realized just how much in love she was until last year, when they were separated again. During the past year, she-for some weird reason-had forgotten all about him, and then remembered him again.

It was so painful, since now that her love had been restored, not to mention doubled, Kairi couldn't be with him. She didn't know where to find him, even. And her other best friend, Riku, was missing as well, so there was basically no one who really understood her feelings.

No one understood except Eden, who had a parallel story, including the part about Riku. The only difference was that Eden had not had a day in the past year that didn't involve at least one thought of Zexion and where he might be, or if he was even still alive.

And if _he_ had a heart, too.

"This is ridiculous," Eden muttered, wiping her eyes furiously. Once her eyes cleared up, she pushed herself upright, standing tall, wiping her eyes another time or two. "Here I am, crying like a big baby. And Kairi...Kairi took action. Even if it was just a f_cking message in a bottle...that's still more than I've done!"

The tears tried to come again, but Eden swallowed them down angrily.

"No more tears," she told herself. "I've got to do something about this."

Eden's Pov

I marched myself into my bedroom like a military official, trying to keep my head held high, swallowing back the lumps that kept forming in my throat. I was going to make myself be strong, even if it killed me.

Right then and there, without really giving it much thought, I decided that I was going to take action, like Kairi did, only a little more extreme.

I was going to find Zexion, no matter what it might cost me.

Okay, okay, it was a LOT more extreme than the little note Kairi had sent Sora, but whatever. That's beside the point.

The point was: I finally had found a purpose for myself. Now, say I found him, then what would I do? Well, _then_ I'd find some sort of purpose that involved him for...forever. So everything worked out rather nicely, if you ask me.

As I stepped into the shower, I gently traced my fingers over the letters carved into my shoulder, frowning a little. It stung a bit, but it didn't hurt as much as the mental pain of not having him there with me.

Obsessed, yes. I can admit that.

Still, there was one thing that bothered me, nagging at me in the back of my mind.

The scenes I saw with his girlfriend still really disturbed me. All that time I was in Castle Oblivion, I was positive that Axel was only making up a horrible reputation for Zexion to make himself look good, but it turns out that Axel was telling the truth-Zexion, Ienzo, really _had_ done some awful things, things that were terrifying enough to give me nightmares some nights.

But, on the other hand, I had only observed those events from the third person perspective, without knowing either of their points of view. Who knows what really happened that night, or what was actually going on between those two, or what she said to prompt Ienzo to stab her like that.

But the fact that he even stabbed someone made me afraid of him...

But-I loved him more than I feared him. So I was more than willing to go on a chase to find him, no matter what it might cost me.

After the long, much-needed shower, I worked on my hair, making it perfectly beautiful. As beautiful as I could've been with that ugly blind eye staring back at me. It was accusing me: "You doubted him. You're still doubting him now. You don't deserve him."

The thoughts stopped as my bangs fell down in front of my left eye, like a auburn-colored shield. Yes.

Of course, if I was going to find Zexion, and actually see him again, I wanted to look halfway decent, so I wasn't going for practical when I slipped myself into a black skirt with heels to match. I didn't figure I would be doing a whole lot of running, and even if I did, I could run in heels anyway.

I looked beautiful, I felt like death, but I knew that this would be the only time I would ever be motivated enough to do this. After all, going on a trek to find Zexion meant leaving Kairi and Selphie behind. I knew they would-well, _Kairi_ would-understand.

The way I figured it, though, I could always come back.

So I opened my front door, closed it behind me, locked it, stuck the key under the mat, and forced myself to walk away from that life and toward what I hoped would be a new one.

Running a hand through her short, red hair, Kairi sighed through her nose, the water reflected in her shimmering blue eyes.

_Sora_, she thought. Her only running thought. She just had to find him...but how? How was she supposed to look for him when he could be literally anywhere? Frustrated, she dug her shoes into the sand, sighing again. She had to wait...even longer...but...

"Maybe...waiting isn't good enough," she said to herself quietly, the breeze blowing her hair about.

"My thoughts exactly," came a voice, startling Kairi. "If you have a dream, don't wait-act. One of life's little rules." Suddenly a black oval appeared on the beach nearby, and a man with scarlet hair walked out. He wore a black trenchcoat and had a handsome, arrogant face. "Got it memorized?"

"Who are you?" Kairi asked quickly. The man smiled, and she couldn't tell if he was trying to be kind or threatening.

"Axel. I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora's." Axel held out his gloved hand, smirking a little. "Why don't we go see him?"

"Sora...?" Kairi murmured, her heart racing. If only she could just see him one more time...his sapphire eyes and cute grin...

And then a yellow dog came bounding over, barking, tearing the red-head out of her thoughts.

Wait a minute. Could she _really_ trust this man? After all, they had only just met. Sora had never, ever mentioned anybody named Axel before, and neither had anyone else, for that matter. He didn't even seem familiar.

Then again, he knew Sora, and he looked like he really meant it. She was pretty much willing to give up anything to be with him again...

"Kairi?"

Wheeling around, Kairi was shocked to see Eden jogging toward her. She looked a bit dressed up, even wearing the super-high heels that was the classic, signature Eden look. Kairi couldn't understand why she would look that way, or why she would be even be wandering about as she was. But it was definitely good to see her.

"What's going on?" Eden asked when she reached Kairi. "What's with the dog?"

"I don't know," Kairi replied, shrugging. "It showed up out of nowhere, just like this guy."

"What guy?"

"Axel." Kairi pointed to the scarlet-haired man, and Eden froze as Axel gazed back, looking more than smug.

"Eden?" he suddenly gasped, recognizing her as she scowled at him. "_The_ Eden? Zexion's Eden? Denex?"

When Eden didn't move, Axel started to laugh.

"Now this is luck. Damn." He rubbed the back of his neck, flashing a toothy grin. "Howya been, Eden?"

"Why are you here?" she demanded, taking a single step toward him.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I _live_ on this island," she snapped, frowning. He chuckled quietly.

"Oh really?" He sounded genuinely amused. "How much more ironic can it get?"

"What?" Kairi murmured, confused. "Eden, do you know him?"

Before either of them could answer, a sudden breeze blew by, and Axel's chuckle turned into a cruel laugh.

"Could this get any funnier!" he cried, nearly doubling over in laughter.

Eden was silent, squinting her one working eye in anger, while the other pale iris remained exposed, obviously the cause of Axel's hysteria.

"You've got his little disease, too?" he gasped, wiping his eyes melodramatically.

"Eden, who is this guy?" Kairi asked, more confused than ever.

Eden's Pov

"You've got his little disease, too?" Axel laughed, nearly giggling like a little girl. I scowled at him, glaring as much as I could with one eye. I hated him with every single fiber of my being, and the fact that I was seeing him and not Zexion only pissed me off more.

"Eden, who is this guy?" Kairi asked me, looking concerned.

"Axel. You can't trust him," I said quickly, turning my gaze to her.

"He said he knows Sora," she replied, looking back at him.

I paused, also looking at Axel, who had a very smug look on his face. What I wouldn't have given to wipe that smirk off him with my three inch heels in his gut, or maybe someplace a little bit more sensitive.

"He might," I finally responded, remembering the events in Castle Oblivion.

"Well, Eden, it's fabulous to see you again," Axel said suddenly, interrupting our conversation. "But I have other things to do. So, Kairi, is your mind made up? I can take you to him, if you want."

Kairi hesitated, looking up at me with a frustrated look on her face.

"Kairi, think," I told her. "You can't trust this guy, I promise. Even if he does know Sora, do you really think he'd let you see him so easily?"

"...I doubt it," she finally said.

Startling all three of us, the funny-looking yellow dog barked, and suddenly white creatures surrounded us. Then I heard a whistle, and a portal opened up opposite of Axel.

"..."

I looked at Kairi long and hard, then at Axel.

"Where is Zexion?" I said, my voice sounding distant.

"Pardon?" Axel said, holding a hand up to his ear.

"Where is Zexion!" I shouted, furious.

"Why, he's fine."

"You know where he is, then?"

"Maaaaybe."

I sighed, glancing at Kairi one more time. If Axel knew where Zexion was, then if I could get away from Axel, I could find Zexion. It was a big risk, but I was more than willing to take it, not only to find my love, but to protect my friend.

"_I'll _go with you," I declared, stepping forward. The white creatures paused, and Kairi gasped.

"Eden!" she squeaked. I shook my head.

"I'm serious." I threw my arms out to the side. "Take me instead of her."

"Hmm..." Axel seriously considered for a moment, looking at the two of us.

"Kairi...run into that portal," I whispered to her over my shoulder. She nodded.

"...Well, how can I resist _you_, lovely?" Axel teased, winking at me. "It's a deal. Come on, Eden."

Before I could even walk toward him, he rushed over to me, grabbing my arms harshly.

"Now we'll have some fun!" he exclaimed, pulling me toward his own portal as Kairi followed the yellow dog into the other.

_Stay safe_, I prayed. _Zexion, I'm coming for you_.

"Kairi," Riku mouthed, frowning as he watched his red-haired friend wander in the in-between world. Pluto followed her, wandering aimlessly.

Puckering his lips, Riku whistled loudly, opening a portal in front of Kairi. She gasped as Pluto bounded over.

Suddenly, startling Riku, she turned around. Riku quickly ducked into a portal. He heard her call out his name.

"Sorry, Kairi," he murmured once he was in the World That Never Was again. "I'll come back for you. Right now, Eden needs my help first."

Sighing, Riku picked up the pace, following the dark scent that Axel was leaving behind.

_I'm coming for you_, Riku thought, rushing through the black streets in silence.


	5. Chapter 5:  Finding my heart

Chapter 5: Finding my heart... (www . youtube . com/watch?v=O5uYKUUhKRc)

Memo: Yesh! Now it starts getting good. I have never done this before, but I am going to let two of my characters meet. This should be interesting. :3

Eden's Pov

When I first came up with the plan to escape from Axel and find Zexion, I was fairly confident that it would work and that I would be able to outsmart him and get away.

But when Axel brought me to his "hideout," if you can call it that, I realized that he was actually a lot smarter than he let on. His hideout was smack-dab in the middle of the World That Never Was, in an abandoned building. But it wasn't just one building anymore. Though they looked separated on the outside, the buildings were actually all connected on the inside. I wondered if Axel had done this, or if that's how it had always been. Either way, he was clever to use it as a hideout-it was a labrynth.

"Alright, Eden, here's the deal," Axel said, dragging me down a hallway. "I have one other thing to take care of, and then we'll have some fun."

"The only fun thing would be killing you," I muttered under my breath. He heard me and threw me out in front of him onto the floor. I took it as my opportunity to escape, but he was incredibly swift, and he snatched me back up again by the hair.

"My my...you haven't changed a bit," he told me, smirking as he held me up to his face. I growled at him. "Still as fiesty as ever. Well, better for me, I guess."

Turning me around, Axel marched me down the hallway into a small, open room.

"Anyway, I'm going to leave you here while I finish up some business with your little ginger friend," he said, and I gasped.

"You said-"

"I said I'd take you. You never said I couldn't take her, too."

Damn...

"Now, be good and quit interrupting me. I'd like you to enjoy your time here as much as possible, because I really am happy to see you again, Eden." He chuckled at his own joke, pushing me into the center of the room.

"You're just going to leave me here?" I asked suspiciously. It seemed a little too easy.

"Yep." He started to walk away, and I started to walk another way, when suddenly a wall of flames shot up in front of me, literally inches in front of my face. There was, in fact, a catch.

"Don't be burning yourself alive or anything," Axel stated, looking back at me over his shoulder. "You won't gain anything that way."

Without another word, he disappeared into a portal. I turned to try to follow him, but another wall of flames shot up, blocking my way. Everywhere I turned, fire sprung up from the ground, and soon I was surrounded by a ring of flames, leaving me nothing to do but sit in the middle and try not to be burned alive.

I seriously considered jumping through the fire. After all, it would only be for a second, and then right afterward I could just roll on the dirty ground and extinguish the flames. But something in my gut told me it wouldn't be that easy. The fire would probably follow me and, like Axel had said, burn me alive.

In other words, I was trapped.

"Help!" I started screaming, trying to be louder than the crackling sound of the fire. It was starting to become swelteringly hot. "Someone help me!"

The likelihood of anyone even hearing me was really small. My only hope was that someone else was in this place, too, and could at least help me put out the fire. But no one answered.

I wasn't going to give up easily, though, so I continued to scream for a long time.

Xalelja pressed her hand against her cheek, thinking hard. It had been a rough day, and now she could finally spend it in peace with Demyx, the only person she had ever trusted, and ever would, she had decided.

But, even though the day was almost over, and she should've been relaxed, something was still keeping her on edge.

"Whatsa matter, Xa-san?" Demyx said, peering up at her from his sitar.

Xalelja shrugged, knotting her fingers together.

"You seem tense, is all."

"I am, I guess," she agreed, pulling on a strand of her long aqua hair. "I just feel like something's really wrong." She shook her head slowly. "I might be imagining things, but really..."

Suddenly a jolt of pain filled Xalelja's head, causing her to cringe. Her powers allowed her to sense pain, even from decent distances. But right now there was no one in pain that she could see.

"Who is it?" Demyx asked, knowing what was going on.

"I don't know. But whoever it is would have to be in this city."

Demyx stood up, setting his sitar on his bed, and he walked over to his bedroom window.

"The World That Never Was is huge, Xa-san," he said with a sigh.

"Meaning that whoever this is must be pretty close to us." Xalelja stood up as well. "I want to try to find this person. Hang on."

Closing her eyes, Xalelja emptied her mind as much as she could, meditating on just the feeling that someone was trying to send to her. If she could just reach this person...

Just then, an image of a girl trapped in a fiery room filled Xalelja's mind. The image zoomed out, and when she opened her eyes, the location was obvious.

"Demyx..." she murmured, frowning.

"Did you find the person?" he asked, turning to her.

"Yes. She's...trapped in an awful place." Xalelja glanced at him. "I think if we don't help her, something terrible might happen."

"..."

This always happened, this hesitation. That was the one thing she didn't like about Demyx-he was too afraid of everything.

"...If you don't go with me, I'll go alone."

"No. No, I'll go."

Smiling to herself, Xalelja led the way into the portal and out into the dark city.

"She looked like she was in one of these buildings," she said when the pair reached the abandoned streets. "It shouldn't be hard to find it...the room she was in was on fire."

"Fire?" Demyx echoed, frowning. "You don't think..."

"Axel could have had something to do with this, I guess," Xalelja finished for him. "After all, when was the last time we saw him?"

"...A long time ago. But I can't imagine he'd just hurt anybody. He'd have to have a really good reason to burn someone alive. I mean, that's how he died, so he's not going to just-"

"Listen."

Demyx fell quiet, and faintly, in the distance, he could hear a blood-curdling scream.

"That must be her." Xalelja pulled on her turquoise hair again, frowning. "So let's find her quickly."

"The sound was coming from over there," Demyx said, pointing at one of the old buildings that used to be a hotel. "In that general direction."

"We'll try it."

Soon the pair had entered the lonely old building, and the screaming grew louder.

"I can hear the fire!" Demyx exclaimed, walking down one of the hallways. "She's this way."

Silently, Xalelja followed Demyx down the maze of hallways, knowing they were getting close when they saw a glowing light.

"Hello?" Xalelja called out to the girl, who was still screaming in agony. The two came closer, and then they saw a peculiar sight.

This girl, whom neither had ever seen before but decided was beautiful, was completely surrounded by a ring of flames. She wasn't on fire herself, thankfully, but she had obviously been in there for a while, because she was sweating and crying out in pain, just because of the extreme heat.

"Hello?" Xalelja tried again, this time getting a response.

"Help me!" the girl shrieked. "Please!"

"Hang on." Xalelja turned to Demyx, nodding. He nodded back, whipping out his sitar and doing his thing.

Soon the ceiling started to gather moisture, just like a cloud, and it began to pour rain, just in that room alone. The fire slowly died down, fizzling out at last, leaving the girl in a heaping wet mess on the singed floor.

"Who are you?" she asked, slowly lifting her head. She was even more beautiful up close.

"Shouldn't I be asking you the same question?" Xalelja said, frowning. "What are you doing in our world?"

"Xa-san, you don't have to be so unfriendly," Demyx interrupted, smiling kindly at the girl. "My name's Demyx, and this is Xalelja."

"...I'm Eden."

"Eden?" Demyx backed up. "That name sounds kind of familiar."

"I know who you are," Xalelja said suddenly. "You're Denex."

"I was." Eden pushed herself up into a sitting position, ringing out her hair.

"What are you doing alive? Everyone thinks you're dead."

"I'm looking for Zexion."

A beat, and then-

"WHAT?"

"You must be delusional," Xalelja said.

"Zexion died," Demyx agreed. "And so did you."

"But we didn't die!" Eden insisted, pouting. "I don't know specifically what happened to us, but we went to this place, and all I know is I came back to another world-and I had a heart again!"

"...Look, I don't feel like arguing about this," Xalelja said, rubbing her temples. "Who did this to you? Why are you here?"

"Axel. He kidnapped me... I was trying to help Kairi and-"

"You know Kairi, too?" Demyx asked, shocked.

"Yeah. She's my friend. Axel, not so much. He has Zexion somewhere around here, I know it."

Sighing, Xalelja and Demyx exchanged worried glances. They could tell she wasn't lying. Why would she?

"Can you help me?" Eden pleaded. "I've got to find him. I've got to set things straight again."

"Why not?" Demyx answered before Xalelja could respond. The aqua-haired girl slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Really? Will you?" Eden looked up at them both, her eyes desperate.

"Eh, like I said, why not? Zexion is my friend, too, and if he's in trouble, I should be able to help him." He turned to Xalelja. "Right?"

"...You're too nice sometimes," she replied, unable to hide a smile.

"Thank you," Eden said, teary-eyed.

"It's nothing. Really." Demyx held out his hand and pulled her up. "Let's start looking."

Eden's Pov

To be honest, other than getting me out of the fire pit, Demyx and Xalelja weren't really all that helpful. They bickered like a married couple the entire time while I led the way, wandering around at a decent pace so as to beat time and find Zexion before Axel found me.

Their conversation got interesting at one point, though, and I couldn't help but listen in.

"We obviously can't trust Axel anymore," Demyx said, a frown in his voice.

"That's too bad," Xalelja replied, sounding irritated. "This whole Organization is awful. Everyone hates it so much. And that's what's so ironic-if everyone just disbanded, what would Xemnas do? What _could_ he do?"

"Something awful, I'm sure," I mouthed, then was surprised to hear Demyx say the same thing.

"Even up against all of us?" Xalelja sounded skeptical.

"Believe me, we've all talked about it before at one time or another. And every time we start to get good ideas, it just fizzles out, because we all know Xemnas would totally annihilate us. Besides, how could people that hate each other possibly cooperate? Like Axel."

"..." Xalelja didn't respond, but I knew what she must be thinking. If they could've just tried... My life would've been a lot easier, too. Her reaction made me wonder how she had died, and what kind of person she had been before becoming a Nobody.

"Oh," she said at last, stopping. Demyx and I stopped, too.

"What is it?" Demyx said.

"Xemnas...I sense he's in a rage about something." Xalelja frowned, crossing her arms across her chest protectively. "I should probably go back to the castle."

"..." I had to wonder if Xemnas was just like the other kinky freaks in the Organization. And what about Demyx? Was he another Lexaeus figure, too?

"Okay. Eden, do you still want my help?" Demyx asked, cocking his head to one side like a curious puppy. He seemed innocent and naive enough to trust. I don't think he had the capability to hurt a fly if he wanted to.

"Yes," I finally responded, nodding. "Thank you, Xalelja."

The aqua-haired beauty smiled a little.

"You're welcome," she murmured. "I'm glad you're okay. Good luck."

"Thanks."

"We'll need it," Demyx muttered under his breath, sounding flustered.

Xalelja ignored his remark and opened a portal, disappearing inside, leaving the two of us to keep wandering. We didn't get very far until we were interrupted, though.

"Well, well, well."

"Shit," I muttered, sprinting off. I don't know what running was going to do to help me, though. Axel simply opened up his portal right in front of me, and I ran right into him, knocking him over. He grabbed my ankle quickly, dragging me toward him as I struggled to get back to my feet again.

"Demyx!" I shouted, turning back to where the blonde mullet-clad man had been. He was already making a break for it, opening a portal and diving in. Useless.

"Ah, so that's how," Axel muttered, pulling me into his clutches once more.

Pulling Eden close to him, Axel opened up another portal, grumbling under his breath. Today was just not a good day.

"Let me go!" Eden screamed, trying to bite him.

"No. You already had your little getaway," Axel snapped as the two appeared in another random hallway. "You're done."

Pulling open the door to a nearby room, Axel threw Eden inside. She landed roughly on the ground, face-first onto the stony floor.

"Why are you doing this?" she gasped, crying softly.

"Because I can."

"I don't understand you people!" she shrieked, whipping around as if to try to run out of the room. Axel quickly pulled the door shut just in time.

"It's okay, Eden," he said, his voice muffled through the door. "I don't understand us, either. Would you feel better if I told you that you make it better?"

"No," she snapped, kicking the door.

"Hey, I could be a lot meaner if I wanted to be," Axel assured her. "But I like you, Eden, so I'll give you the chance to make this as enjoyable as possible. Now, this time, sit tight, will you? Your crazy ginger friend is more evasive than you."

"Good."

"I'm warning you." Axel's voice dropped to a low growl. "You try anything to escape, and I won't be so nice. I'm planning on letting you live after I'm done with you, but I can easily change my mind. Trust me."

"You won't touch me. I'll rip your balls off before you can."

Axel only chuckled, and Eden listened as his footsteps faded away.

As soon as the room grew quiet again, Eden grabbed the door handle and jiggled it crazily. It wouldn't budge.

"HELP!" she screamed, pounding on the door.

Through the small window on the door, she could see that there were several locks, some nearly as big as the door. She realized that she was in a safe. Locked in a safe. Fantabulous.


	6. Chapter 6:  Losing my mind

Chapter 6: ...Losing my mind (www . youtube . com/watch?v=02kvoe8MuJ4)

Memo: Sorry, I meant to post this yesterday, but I've been sick for the past couple of days, and my head hurts. xD So the song LOSE YOUR MIND by BoA (featuring the lovely Yutaka-san from Doping Panda with a siiiick guitar solo 3)...well, you need to watch the music video if you haven't... Boa looks like Eden. XD I really enjoy this moment. It's kind of the turning point, and it's a good one, I think. You're in the second half now, too! O-oh, we're halfway the-ere...

Eden's Pov

I was a little bit beyond pissed as I saw Axel leave. Despite the fact that Demyx and Xalelja had helped me as far as not being burned alive went, I didn't know if I was any closer to Zexion than I had been before. So did their helping me actually _help_? I'm not so sure it did. If anything, I was in more danger than before.

One thing was for sure, though: I was going to find Zexion. Earlier when I said I was willing to risk pretty much anything to find him again, that included my virginity, which I was pretty sure Axel was going to take whether I wanted him to or not. And I didn't want him to, trust me.

But even if that did happen, I was still going to find Zexion. I had promised him and myself that I would, and I wasn't going to give up until I either found him or died.

And even if I had died, I'm pretty sure my vengeful spirit would've found him and annihilated Axel and any other threats that may have presented themselves.

Anyway, like I said, I was just a little bit beyond pissed when Axel left. But I was still pretty steady-minded at that point, and so I focused on trying to find a way to escape again. I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing Demyx again.

The room was all solid, cool metal, with the exception of the door, which was still metal, but it had a small window at eye level, so I could look out into the gloomy hallway. That wasn't much help, but at least I wasn't trapped in a box.

I tried looking for rats. That sounds nasty, I know, but I figured that if rats had gotten in and out of the room, I might be able to create an exit for myself as well. But the room was sealed tight, and unless I gained Herculean strength, I wasn't punching down that door anytime soon. That left the option of breaking the little window. Even then, the window was far too small to squeeze through, even for someone of my build. If the frame had been wooden, maybe then I could've beaten it down and squeezed through, but the frame was metal, just like everything else.

In other words, there was no way out unless someone was going to rescue me.

_Maybe he knows I'm here_, I realized, pacing around the room. I had to do _some_thing to steady my mind. _He might be able to escape easier than I can. Then he could come and help me_.

Sighing, I plopped down into the corner, exhausted.

_Yeah, and maybe I can fly_.

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to imagine him coming to find me. But for some reason, all I could picture was that last time I saw him. When we were both in that strange place, and I saw his eye close. I remembered not knowing if I could trust him fully or not. I still didn't know.

"I just want to know if this is even a possibility," I murmured, pouting as I tried to hold back tears. "If it isn't, I'd rather not be disillusioned anymore. I'd rather just know and move on if I have to. Not that I want to."

Frowning, I rolled up my sleeve, looking at the bright red letters I had carved just yesterday into my shoulder.

"Even if I have to move on, I never will," I realized, yanking my sleeve down angrily. "I can't help it. I'm going crazy!"

In a fit of rage, I pounded the floor with my fists like a little kid having a trantrum.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" I screamed into the empty air. N obody screamed back.

"I know you're around here somewhere," Axel muttered, looking around the hallway, a little crazed. "You wanna know how I know you're wandering around here?" The red head laughed. "You're using portals, which I conveniently happen to be monitoring. This is my hideout, my place, and you think you can sneak around with your portals and all that jazz? Well, guess what? You can't. And with I'm done with Eden, I'll take care of you, Riku."

Riku inhaled silently as Axel left through a portal of his own. When the area became quiet, he dared to look around the corner.

"So, Eden _is _here," he muttered to himself, frowning a little. He almost opened a portal again, but quickly stopped himself and started walking along the hallways instead. He knew he was the only hope for Eden now, and so he had to be even more careful than before.

Riku had spent all day trying to track Eden. He had sensed her arrival earlier, but when he went to check it out, she was gone. Maybe the isolation and secrecy was getting to him, but he could've sworn she was there earlier.

But now he _knew_ Eden was in the "hideout," and now it was just a matter of trying to find where without being seen. And he had to find her before Axel got to her again and did something that no one could undo.

"Hang on, Eden," Riku murmured, running down another hallway.

Despite his mistakes in the past, Riku considered himself to be a pretty dedicated friend. After all, if he didn't have any sort of feelings for Eden, he probably wouldn't have been helping her reunite with her love, let alone help her to escape in general. The part about Zexion was a little disappointing to him, though. He would've been dishonest if he had said he had no attraction toward Eden. She definitely caught his interest. But because he felt that way about her, he wanted to see her happy, and he was willing to sacrifice his own happiness to see hers fulfilled.

And besides, he was still young, and he would probably find someone else in the future who adored him for whatever reason. Eden pretty much had her heart set on Zexion, and so that's how it would have to be.

Suddenly Riku heard a quiet murmur coming from the opposite end of the hallway. But there wasn't anything there except a large wheel that looked like the entrance to a safe. This must've been a bank at some point, he determined, quietly making his way closer to the safe.

Upon further investigation, Riku realized that the soft murmur was actually the sound of someone sobbing. That meant it had to be her. Who else would be crying, stuck in a safe? And even if it wasn't her, it was probably someone who needed rescuing anyway.

Summoning his keyblade forth, Riku quietly and swiftly went to work on the locks. Each of them fell to the floor with a clang, with the exception of the giant wheel. Using all of his strength, Riku spun the wheel, and slowly the door opened. He hesitated before stepping inside.

It was definitely Eden. She was sitting in the corner of the room to his left, looking up at him, terrified. Her newly reddish hair looked pretty nice considering her captivity, but her face spoke of exhaustion and frustration.

Riku was about to speak when Eden slowly stood up, pressed into the corner still.

"...Get _away_ from me!" she cried, bolting away.

Eden's Pov

I lifted my head up quickly when I heard something outside the door.

_No_, I thought, my heart beginning to race. _Axel can't be back already. I don't have a plan. I don't have a plan_!

But sure enough, I looked at the entrance to the safe, and the first thing I saw was a black boot step in, followed by a man clad in a black cloak. He looked at me, and I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. Slowly I rose to my feet, getting ready to go into flight or fight mode. I would fight him if I had to. Anything to get away.

"...Get _away_ from me!" I cried, taking off toward the opposite corner of the room. I was hoping that if I could lure him over to the farthest point away from the exit, I could escape and get a good head-start. Turning to look at Axel, I saw he was indeed following me slowly.

_If this works, I'll pee myself_, I thought, trying to surpress a laugh. I really did have to pee.

As soon as he was close enough, I sprinted past him, but I only got a foot past him until he grabbed my arm roughly.

"NO!" I screamed, trying to shake him off. His grip was surprisingly stronger now. And he was wearing his hood. Did he think he could fool me or something?

"Eden-"

I interrupted the man with a sharp, loud gasp. This _wasn't_ Axel. Even worse.

_Xemnas_.

The voice immediately gave it away.

"LET GO!" I shrieked, clawing at his hand desperately, tears welling up in my eyes. Despite the fact that I hated Axel, I would've rather had him to deal with than good old Mr. Mansex. I wasn't interested in _anything_ having to do with _him_.

"Eden, it's me," Xemnas said calmly, finally letting me go.

"Why are you here?" I shouted at him, backing away slowly, massaging my throbbing arm. "What do you want from me? Leave me alone!"

"Eden, can't you see it?" Xemnas said, his voice growing a little angrier.

"See what?" I demanded, glaring at him, still staying a good distance away from him. If this was a trick, I wanted to give myself enough space to escape.

"It's _me_," he repeated, sounding almost sad.

"Me, who?" I said. Now I was just confused. Sadness wasn't something that characterized Xemnas...at all. So who was this?

"I'm Riku."

Suddenly everything went blurry, and I felt ready to faint.

"_Riku_?" I breathed. Snapping out of it, I shook my head quickly, my harsh glare returning. "No, you're not. You're just trying to fool me, and it's not going to work."

"But Eden, it's _me_. Here-"

Without giving me time to react, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard so I wouldn't move.

"Close your eyes."

I thought for a moment, unsure of what to do. If this wasn't Riku, I was more than figuratively screwed. But if it was, I was saved.

I had to take that risk, I realized, so I closed my eyes tightly. To my shock and delight, Riku's face appeared where the hooded man's profile had been. He smiled, and I found myself smiling, too, for the first time in a long time.

"Riku!" I exclaimed, opening my eyes and hugging him tightly. "Thank the higher power..."

Relieved, Riku laughed quietly as Eden hugged him. He was afraid she might reject him, and then he would've had to have forced her to go with him. And then who knows what would've happened.

"You have no idea how awful this has been," she said, standing in front of him with a small pout on her face.

"I can only imagine," Riku replied, frowning a little.

"I don't understand, though. Your voice..."

Sighing, Riku slowly shook his head.

"I'll tell you that later. Right now I need to tell you something else that I think you'll care a lot more about."

Eden's one eye grew wide in shock.

"You know where he is," she breathed, dizzy. When Riku nodded, she collapsed onto her knees with a thud, her body heaving with sobs.

"Eden..."

"I've been waiting for this day for so long," she murmured through her tears. "I've been preparing myself for it, and yet I'm still so...I don't know. So startled."

"Startled?" Riku repeated, confused.

Obviously hesitating, Eden looked up at Riku and swept her bangs to the side.

"...Oh...Zexion is the same way, isn't he?" Eden nodded, her hair falling back into place. "I don't think he'll care. He wants to see you again."

"Really?" She jumped to her feet, her energy restored. "Can you take me to him?"

Riku nodded. "I'm ready when you are."

"Then let's go," Eden said, grabbing onto his arm.

"Wait, before we go...I need to show you what I look like, so it doesn't startle you later."

When she didn't reply, Riku sighed through his nose and pulled back his hood, revealing the face of Xehanort's Heartless. Eden's jaw dropped a little.

"...How?" she mouthed as Riku pulled his hood back over. He motioned for her to follow, and the two began to briskly walk through the hallways.

"After you and Zexion left Castle Oblivion, I fought Xehanort's Heartless in my heart," Riku explained as he led her to Zexion's cell. "I won, and he was locked away in my heart. Later, though, I had to go find Roxas-"

"Roxas is Sora's Nobody, isn't he?" Eden said, furrowing her brows in thought.

"Yeah. I was told to go find him to help Sora wake up. In order to defeat him and be stronger than him, I had to use the powers of darkness again, which meant using Xehanort's darkness. I guess that's why I look like him now."

"...I'm sorry. Can you ever go back to the way you used to look?"

"No idea."

"Ugh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It doesn't bother me too much." Riku smiled to himself. "It's more important that people accept who I am and not what I look like."

"...You're right." Eden looked away, ashamed. "I'm very vain still. Sorry."

"That's who you are, though. I can accept that."

Suddenly Riku stopped, realizing how close they were.

"Listen, Eden, we're almost there," he began, and her eye started tearing up. "I just want to tell you something else before I drop you off. I..."

He paused for a good amount of time, trying to form words out of his feelings.

"I...If you need me, I'll be there," he finally said. "I don't know what Zexion will do or say. But...well, if he won't love you, then I will."

Eden's Pov

"I...If you need me, I'll be there," Riku finally declared after a long pause. He seemed to be struggling with saying something, and it made me wonder, I'll be honest. "I don't know what Zexion will do or say. But...well, if he won't love you, then I will."

And that's where I say, "rrrrr, back it up, please!"

"Riku..." I whispered, unable to surpress a smile.

I thought about it long and hard before I did anything else.

It was awkward, I won't deny it. Here was this guy, who I trusted and still do, and...did he seriously just admit he loved me? How long had we even known each other? Not that long, but still...

The thing was...Zexion wasn't there when I needed him most. Riku was. He went above and beyond expectations, and he obviously wanted my happiness more than his own. That _was_ saying something.

I had made my decision. Pulling back his hood, I gently kissed Riku on the lips. He seemed to get the idea pretty quickly.

I had been so lonely for so long...how was I supposed to hold back emotion for someone who loved me? Did I have any other choice but to give in?

After all, what Zexion didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

But it's okay, because that's not actually what happened.

I'm stupid, but I was changed at that point, and I thought long and hard about what the old me would've done. Still wondering? See above.

So after thinking, I came to the conclusion that I had come this far, and I couldn't give up now. I wasn't just going to let all that pain slide by like it was for nothing. And besides, three year age gap? Not my style. I'm no cougar...though for all I knew, Zexion was younger than me, too. But I figured he wasn't, and if he was, it was only by a few months.

Anyway, I knew my place, and it was with Zexion. I think Riku knew that, too.

But I do admit I kissed Riku, but only on the cheek, and only for a fraction of a second. After risking his life to save me, it was the _least _I could've done.

"Thank you," I murmured, smiling at him. He seemed to accept that I still loved Zexion and always would. He didn't freak out or anything. He just nodded and smiled back.

"If you need me, just shout and I'll come," he said, guiding me along down the hallway.

At the corner was a small cell, not unlike the many we'd passed-apparently we were in a jail now? Strange city.

Anyway, there was a small cell, and it looked abandoned, but Riku stopped, so I did. I took a better look, and then I saw the poor creature huddled up against the wall, still dressed in the old Organization cloak. All of the air in my lungs escaped so quickly that I thought I might faint. Riku smiled a little.

"Take your time," he said, opening the door with his keyblade.

"..." I couldn't answer.

Zexion. Finally.


	7. Chapter 7:  Discovery

Chapter 7: Discovery (www . youtube . com/watch?v=FjcPv0NlZNk)

Memo: Success~! I love this chapter with a fiery burning passion. A couple of years ago or so, I drew this scene out as a manga...just quick, sloppy sketches, but it was great, and now I've gotten to the point where I can write about it! Yay.

Eden's Pov

It was a fabulous sort of dream I walked into. Riku opened the door, and I walked right in, like I was supposed to. It was like I had planned it all out in my mind for so long, and it had been a dream for so long, that when it became real, it still wasn't...if that makes sense. As Riku shut the door behind me, I realized what a long year it had been, and how I was ready for that era to disappear, and for this era to begin.

However, in those dreams I had always imagined Zexion in perfect condition, like he would be waiting with open arms, and I could press "play" and we'd live happily ever after. I don't know why I always thought that, though. It was so unrealistic in retrospect.

Instead, I walked in, took one look at the nearly lifeless body lying on the floor, and inhaled so sharply I almost choked on my spit.

_It's...him_! I wanted to shout. My hands jumped to my mouth, smothering my quiet gasp. I couldn't believe it at first; my dream had finally started to come true. But something just didn't seem right.

I noticed that there was some blood on the floor, amongst other things. His clothes were disgusting, but his hair was surprisingly decent, considering how long he had probably been locked up. I wondered if Riku had something to do with it.

Slowly I approached the sleeping beauty, pausing before I kneeled beside him. I wanted to scream, but I knew it would scare him, and I didn't want to wake him so harshly. I mean, that would be awkward-a shout and then "Hi! I'm back!" He probably would've tried to kill me, which wouldn't have been all that fun.

"...Zexion?" I whispered. He didn't respond; he looked dead. "...W-wake up."

He didn't move or even acknowledge me, so I gently placed my hand on his cheek. It was dirty, but warm with sleep. As softly as I could manage, I pushed his hair back out of his good eye.

Suddenly he sighed through his nose, and it startled me a bit, so I sat back on my heels, but my hand remained on his cheek. Slowly, dazed with deep sleep, his navy eye opened, and when it focused, it fell on me. Just that alone took my breath away.

I didn't say anything, just smiled a little. Tears were coming, but I bit my tongue to hold them back for just a little while longer.

He seemed to slowly come to terms with what was going on...very slowly. Did he think he was still dreaming?

"...Denex?" he murmured, his hand uncurling from a child-like fist.

I almost laughed at his reply, but I thought better of it and only grinned. Pushing myself to a crouching position, I held out my hand to him, still beaming.

"For real this time..." I said, my voice shaking even more than my hand. "...It's _Eden_."

Zexion was having a good dream, for once. There was no pain and sorrow in it this time, only a soft, warm light, and a cool breeze passing through his silver hair. He was on a beach, toes in the sand, and he was actually smiling. How long had it been since he had last smiled? Forever ago, it seemed.

"...Zexion? ...W-wake up."

Did the dream get even better? Now Eden was at his side. He smiled at her, but she only gave him a worried glance.

Suddenly, startling him a bit, Zexion felt a warm hand touch his face, stroking his hair back out of his closed eye.

_Who in the world_...? he thought, his brain working overtime to recover from sleep enough to open his eye. Slowly he did so, and all of the strength left his body in an instant at the sight of her. ..._Eden_? _He found her_... It wasn't a dream

"...Denex?" Zexion murmured, then immediately regretted saying that. She didn't seem to mind it, though. In fact, she looked genuinely amused, like she might laugh in his face. He wouldn't have minded it one bit.

"For real this time..." she replied, holding out her hand as she started to stand. "...It's _Eden_."

_Eden_, he repeated in his mind. _I could get used to that_.

Without replying, Zexion slowly pushed himself up, his wrists burning with pain as the shackles connecting him to the wall rubbed against his raw skin. He could only get into a sitting position before erupting into a fit of coughs. His body was so weak after not being properly taken care of...

After catching his breath, Zexion held out his shaking hand, his glove torn in many places, and when his hand met hers, he immediately felt his strength return in a rush of emotion. Soon he was standing again, and he coughed a few more times.

Eden gazed up at him with a small frown on her porcelain face. He was pretty sure she had become even more beautiful since the last time he saw her. If that was possible.

"...Are you okay, Zexion?" she asked, then immediately recoiled, as if she thought she sounded stupid.

"Y-Yeah, I'm...fine," Zexion replied, clearing his throat a bit as he stepped away from the wall, the chains clinking against the cold floor. His whole body felt cold, just like this room. Just like this whole place.

And then she threw herself into his arms, and the coldness and pain disappeared, and for a moment, he stood stunned, eye wide, mouth agape. He hadn't felt her embrace in a long, long time. Surprisingly, though, it didn't feel any different than before.

Soon the warmth had filled his entire body, and he found his arms moving to hug her back, and he felt her grip tighten, as if she couldn't be close enough to him.

_It's been...so long_, Zexion realized as they stood there in a calm silence.

Perching herself on her tiptoes, Eden moved her arms from his waist to around his neck, burying her face into his collarbone in an effort not to start bawling. Her whole body was trembling from the struggle, so Zexion kept her in his arms, trying to comfort her.

"...Eden..."

Eden's Pov

Being able to see him again was one thing. Being able to talk to him again was another. Being able to touch him was another still.

But being able to stand there for several full minutes in his embrace in that quiet place was so incredibly indescribable. The air felt so warm and calm, like we weren't in a prison. Like we were in our own secret paradise that nobody else could intrude upon. In a way, I guess we were.

"...Eden..."

_He said my name_! I squealed in my mind, tears starting to overflow.

"...I'm sorry...for-"

"No," I said quickly, dropping back onto my heels and clutching the loose fabric on his arms. Why was he apologizing? What had he done to me except make me fall head over heels for him? And I don't think that's a good reason to say you're sorry at all, quite frankly, because it happens.

"Don't apologize," I continued, pulling my face away from his tattered cloak so he could hear me more clearly. "You did nothing wrong."

I found myself looking right at his chest, where the once-shiny silver chain was on his robe.

_This is odd_, I realized. _He was always _my_ height before_!

"...The only thing you've ever done wrong to me is grow a foot taller than me!" I exclaimed, looking up at him at last. He looked tired, very beaten-down, but his amused smile covered it all up.

"I have an excuse," he said quickly, trying to make himself sound excused, which he wasn't, and I think he knew it, but it was all just fun and games anyway. "Unlike you, I was only sixteen when I died. I wasn't done growing up yet. But..."

He looked hard at me, and with very good reason, my heart started having conniptions. This would either be very good, or very bad. Just the feeling I got was leaning toward the latter.

"...You've changed, too," he finished. I was hoping he wouldn't notice. "Your hair...it's red."

Relieved that he only mentioned the color, I tucked a loose strand of my wavy hair behind my right ear, careful not to draw any unneeded attention to the left side of my face.

"Oh, this? This is my natural color, before I died and became a Nobody," I explained, smiling innocently. "I decided I liked it better red than brown, and my roots were growing back as this color, so..."

"But..." He frowned, glancing at his feet with a hint of confusion on his face.

_Oh no oh no oh no_, I repeated in my mind, growing more and more nervous as we stood there in silence.

Suddenly, startling me so I couldn't prevent it, Zexion reached out and brushed my bangs away.

"NO-!" I cried, my voice betraying me as Zexion's gaze fell on my paralyzed, blinded left eye. I stared back with my right eye, failing miserably at holding back tears.

"But..."

Zexion knew in the back of his mind that Eden was hiding something, and if this was it... Well, there was only one way to find out.

And so he reached out and pulled back her hair. She cried out at him, but he didn't even hear what she said; his own mind suddenly flooded with memories and thoughts at the sight of her frozen eye.

_You, too_? he wanted to say, but he couldn't bring himself to. Her face scrunched up a bit as tears rolled down her cheeks, then her working eye's gaze rocketed downward. She looked incredibly sad, ashamed... He wanted to say he knew how she felt, but he didn't know how to, and he was afraid he might offend her in the process.

"..." Zexion felt a wave of sadness and pity wash over him, then a bit of pride.

_Well, I suppose everyone gets what they deserve_... he reminded himself.

"I know what you're thinking..." Eden said suddenly, closing her working eye angrily as tears continued to defy her and spill over. "I know what you must be thinking...'what goes around, comes around'...right?"

Startled by the accuracy of her statement, Zexion immediately frowned, shaking his head quickly.

"You-You're wrong!" he insisted.

"Am I _really_...?" she murmured, looking up at him, almost in an accusatory fashion. Gently but firmly, she pressed his hand away, and her bangs fell back into place.

"..." He didn't know what to say, since she was basically dead-on.

"So...what _are_ you thinking, then, Zexion?"

"I..."

Truthfully, he pitied her. Deep down, he felt as sorry for her as he sometimes felt for himself. But he knew that if he told her that, she would be angrier than she already was. He didn't want to ruin his chances, if he even had any left at this point. So, he kept silent as she continued to glare at him, irritated and disappointed.

"I think you pity me," she said after a few more quiet moments. "I think you pity me and yourself. Well, you shouldn't. We both had our demons to face, and ironically, we both received the same penitence. It happens. But I didn't come all this way to find you and to have you take pity on me."

She paused; Zexion stayed quiet.

"I can't read you like you can read me!" she cried, frustrated. "Please, just tell me! I've already waited too long to even_ see _you again; the least you can do is answer my questions!" Her frown grew deeper with each sentence. She was working very hard to keep herself composed. "What are you thinking!"

"I know what _I'm_ thinking, Eden."

Eden's Pov

"I think you pity me," I said at last, when I knew he wasn't going to answer me. "I think you pity me and yourself. Well, you shouldn't. We both had our demons to face, and ironically, we both received the same penitence." I'll admit, ironically is an understatement, but it made my point clear. "It happens. But I didn't come all this way to find you and to have you take pity on me."

I stopped to see if Zexion had anything to claim, add, or deny. He didn't, and my level of frustration sky-rocketed.

"I can't read you like you can read me!" I shouted, shaking now because of anger. "Please, just tell me! I've already waited too long to even_ see _you again; the least you can do is answer my questions! What are you thinking!"

"I know what _I'm_ thinking, Eden."

I froze, and both Zexion and I whipped our heads around to see a portal opening up, and none other than Axel walking in. I wanted to gag, and I swear I almost did. His green eyes glittered with a strange sort of mischief, and one could only assume that meant he had finally caught Kairi, and now was about to capture me.

That is, if I would let him, which I wasn't planning on.

"I think that you got through every little trap I set," Axel continued, taking a step toward Zexion and me. Instictively I clung to Zexion, and he put his arms around me protectively. I felt better, but I still reminded myself that Zexion was chained to the wall, and if Axel got a good hold of me, all would be lost.

"You got through that fire wall because of that stupid idiot Demyx...Riku opened those locks for you in the safe. Did he tell you I've been monitoring portals? I knew that little freak was sneaking around-"

"He's not a freak," I snapped, glaring at him. "The only freak I see here is _you_."

"What a hypocrite you've become, Eden," Axel replied, smirking. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? Or rather, just look at Zexion-he's your mirror image now, isn't he?"

As Axel laughed at his own joke, I glanced up at Zexion, and he frowned, obviously worried. I hated that Axel was right.

"There was a lot I didn't know you could get through," Axel said after his laughter died off. "And yet, I did know...I'd find you here, with your little protector."

He pointed at us, nodding at Zexion, who noticably tightened his grip. It gave me a good round of goosebumps, despite the fact that I was scared out of my wits.

"Oh, there's one more thing, Eden," Axel added, grinning outright.

"What do you want?" I growled under my breath. His smile didn't waver.

"Remember when I asked you that question-"

"Not this again," I muttered under my breath.

"You've answered it, I think." Axel nodded to himself, as if this conversation were one-sided. "Yep, you have. So, now you have to suffer the consequences of your choice."

"What is he talking about?" Zexion asked me, still worried.

"It's a long story," I replied, frowning.

"Nah, not really." Axel wagged a finger at me. "You know, Eden, if you're not going to be honest with him, I will. I have nothing to hide." He shrugged, smirking. "You see, Zexy, last year when good ol' Eden here was having problems with Lexaeus, I was also involved."

"You sick-"

"Now, now, no time for name-calling. Save that for your little whore."

"I'm not a whore!" I exclaimed, turning to Axel angrily. Did he even know what a whore was? Idiot. I was about ready to break out a dictionary and break his neck with it.

"Anyway, in one of our conversations, I asked her a very important questions that she now even refuses to answer outright."

Axel paused, and neither of us moved.

"I asked her who she would rather have-me or you. Because I know, and _she_ knows, your past, Zexion."

"You think you know it," Zexion replied in a low growl. "There's a lot more to the story than watching can tell."

For some reason, I was relieved. I had always wanted to believe that Zexion was truly good, with a few bad bumps in his life, and his response reassured that feeling.

"It doesn't matter now. She's chosen you. And now she's going to watch you die. But first, _you_, my silver-haired amigo, get to watch me have her."


	8. Chapter 8:  Fight Back

Chapter 8: Fight Back ( www . youtube . com/watch?v=ObTLXzpZ7PM)

Memo: Okay! Another good chapter down, another good chapter ahead! I really like this part...it kind of gives me goosebumps. There's not a ton of dialogue in this chapter, so make sure you read the details. ...Actually, I guess there's not that much dialogue in this whole story. XD Oh well.

"It doesn't matter now," Axel said, looking at Zexion, who was still holding Eden close. He finally had her now; there was no way he would lose her again. "She's chosen you. And now she's going to watch you die. But first, _you_, my silver-haired amigo, get to watch me have her."

"Have her-?" Zexion looked at Axel, then at Eden, then Axel again. "I'll wring your neck if you even _think_ about touching her!"

"Oh really? Last time I checked, you were still chained to the wall. But prove me wrong, Zexy. I'm thinking about it; whatcha gonna do?"

Eden looked up at Zexion, frowning. They both knew that Zexion's threat meant nothing; even if he weren't chained to the wall, he wouldn't have had the strength to take Axel on anyway.

"...That's what I thought. Now, c'mon you two, you can either make this really easy or you can make it hard. I don't mind either way, because I know I've already won the war. It won't do you any good to win this battle."

Axel held out hand, snapping his fingers a couple of times.

"Hand her over, handsome. I won."

Zexion could feel his heart in his throat. There was nothing he could do to help her, or himself.

_How did this happen_? he thought, looking at Eden's pale blue eye.

"No," Zexion heard himself say.

"Ex-cuse me?" Axel said, irritated.

"I said no. You're not going to get away with this. I'm not going to just give her up to you like she's an object."

At such a response, Eden felt her heart swell. He actually _did_ care.

"You're only making this harder on yourselves, you know," Axel said impatiently. "It'll only be harder to say goodbye if you keep saying such things."

"I'm not going to let you do this," Zexion said angrily.

Axel let out a drawn-out sigh.

"Fine. You've summoned the childish side of me, Zexion. I was going to let you live a little while longer, but now I can see that I can't convince you to let her go. So now this is how it's going to be."

Axel held out his hand toward Zexion, shrugging a little.

"It's too bad, really. I never really _dis_-liked you. Oh well. I guess I have to have indifference when I kill someone."

"No!" Eden cried suddenly, startling them both.

"Pardon?" Axel snapped, glaring at her.

"No, leave him alone. I don't care what happens to my body anymore," she said, tears choking her voice. "Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt _him_."

"Now that's more like it." Axel quickly lowered his hand, looking at Zexion with a huge smirk on his face. "Your little girlfriend has some sense. She ought to share some with you."

Eden's Pov

I had never been so scared before in my whole life; I'm pretty sure my heart wanted to poop out after standing there with such tension. But I had an idea, and I only hoped it would buy us some time, at least to escape.

"Now, come on, Eden." Axel coaxed me over with his index finger. "You made a deal now, so don't you dare go and break it, or I'll burn you both alive."

Quite frankly, I didn't care what happened to me anymore. I was tired of watching Zexion suffer for nothing. After all this time, it was _his_ turn to be free.

"What are you doing, Eden?" Zexion whispered to me. I looked up at him, mustering a smile.

"You deserve your freedom a lot more than I do, Zexion," I answered honestly. "This time, I'm going to protect you, and you're going to escape."

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Don't you trust me?" I asked. This was such an important question to me, and I think he knew it, too.

"...I do. I trust you."

I couldn't help but smile; if he could've said anything to make me happy, that was it.

"That's all I need to know," I told him honestly, but he didn't seemed as relieved.

I considered kissing him, but in case something did happen, I didn't want to hurt his heart-or mine-any more than necessary.

Instead, I turned to Axel, glaring at him a little, then I relaxed my gaze, staring him down in his lime eyes.

_I wonder what _your _story is_, I thought, releasing Zexion. _How much hurt do you have in your soul_?

Slowly I walked toward Axel, my mind racing, just as I needed it to.

"...How did you die?" I asked Axel suddenly, just a few inches away from him. He immediately stiffened.

"Why do you want to know?" he replied in a low voice.

"Just curious," I said, placing my hand on his cheek. His skin was very warm, which came as no real surprise, considering his element was fire. "Do you know how _I _died?"

"No, and I don't really care."

I held my gaze steady despite the anger I was feeling. I needed that anger to build up if this plan was going to work.

"That's too bad."

I closed my eyes for a moment, and in that split-second, I let all of the horrible memories of my past come flooding in, and I felt so angry I could've burst into pieces.

But I didn't. I had a better way to get rid of my burning hatred.

Still as gently as before, I moved my hand up to Axel's forehead, and taking a small, quiet breath, I forced all of that negativity into his mind. I could see his brain practically melting right in front of me. I knew it was working, but I kept feeding my anger into him.

Last year, when I had discovered this power, I didn't think to ever use it as a weapon, just as a tool. But using it as a weapon could kill, and that was my intention. I'm not bloodthirsty-I never have been. But I knew I had to kill Axel if I was going to have any chance with Zexion.

Inhaling sharply, I forced the last of that rage into his mind in a quick thrust of my palm, and the pressure of the blow sent him flying backward into the wall. He let out a cry of pain as his back slammed against the stone, and he slumped onto the floor, holding his head in his hands.

He wasn't dead yet, which meant my job wasn't finished yet. Slowly I pressed my index fingers to my temples and pulled out two silvery strands of music, holding them like whips in my hands. I crunched them up in my hands, then threw them at Axel, hoping something incredible would happen.

To my surprise, they exploded like miniature bombs the second they made contact with his body-it was dark energy, and I had never thought to wield it before. I hoped maybe that would've done him in, but when the smoke cleared, Axel had pushed himself up to a standing position again.

"Cute," he muttered, his lip clearly bleeding.

"Fight me," I dared him, my anger returning.

"Fight me," Zexion heard Eden growl. Could this get any more strange?

"Eden, you're crazy," he murmured under his breath, half-smiling, half-worried. Attacking Axel was one thing, but prompting him to attack her back wasn't such a bright idea. Still, he hadn't expected this much from her, so who knew what else she had up her sleeves.

"...Oh, Eden..." Axel grunted, straightening himself up more. He towered over her, but she didn't seem afraid at all. "...You're such a beautiful little fool."

"Thanks," she said, grinning cutely, then lunged forward for another attack.

Axel seemed to expect it a little more this time, and he managed to dodge her, but he was still too weak to retaliate. Whatever she had done to him earlier had really hurt him.

"Hey."

Slowly turning around, Zexion looked into the darkness of the hallway to see Riku standing there, arms folded across his chest.

"Help her," Zexion mouthed to him, but he shook his head.

"It's her fight. She doesn't need help right now."

Zexion frowned at him, but he only leaned against the far wall, watching the scuffle, which was starting to get pretty rough.

Eden was actually holding up rather well, considering the height and strength difference. Then again, she had gotten the first shot, putting her at a much greater advantage anyway.

Axel would try to hit her, but she would dodge it and fling another music line at him, sometimes whipping him in the face.

Things seemed to be working in her favor; she had a determined look on her face that Zexion had never seen before.

And then Zexion saw one of Eden's thin heels snap off, making her stumble into the wall. Axel took his chance and grabbed her by the wrists, so tightly that she cried out in pain.

"Eden!" Zexion shouted, pulling at his chains. He was about ready to tear off all of his skin in order to save her.

"I have you now, you little whore," Axel said, glaring at Eden with such fury that she thought he might eat her instead of rape her.

However, she was not out of tricks yet.

Rearing back, Eden spit in Axel's face, her signature move. It, of course, worked, and Axel released her instinctively. Eden took it as her chance to get away, but she had forgotten her shoe was broken, and when she went to take a step, she overestimated and tripped, falling onto the cold, stone floor.

_Not good_, she realized, trying to get back up. But soon she felt Axel on top of her, pinning her down by her legs and wrists again.

"If you try to fight back again, I'll kill you right now," Axel threatened. Eden thrashed under his grip, frantic, desperate to get away. "I'll break your wrists, Eden."

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, crying angrily.

"You leave me no choice."

Zexion heard the crack of her bones as Axel squeezed her wrists harder. She shrieked, writhing in pain.

Swearing under his breath, Zexion fiddled with the clasps around his wrists, trying to break free. Then he recalled Riku, and so he turned back to talk to him. But Riku was gone.

_That big_-!

Out of nowhere, a blast of dark energy appeared, knocking Axel off of Eden.

Eden's Pov

Still whimpering in pain, I rolled over to get a look at Axel, who was pushing himself upright, shaking from the impact of the blast. Whoever did that was my bff right then.

Then it hit me-_Riku_ was still here.

"I don't know how you did that," Axel began, brushing himself off, "but it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"Not if _he_ can help it," both Zexion and I said in unison as Riku appeared behind Axel, lifting his keyblade high. I thought he might just cut him in half right there, but instead he brought his hilt down hard on Axel's head, knocking him unconscious immediately.

"Riku," I whispered as he cut the chains off of Zexion quickly.

"Get out of here," he ordered us. "You've overstayed your welcome."

"What about Axel? What if he tries to find us?" I asked, standing up weakly. Riku grunted quietly, walking over to me.

"Sora needs him to get into the World That Never Was. I have to keep him alive for that."

Gently, Riku took hold of my hands and cured my wrists. They were still swollen and looked miserable, but the pain was gone.

"I'll make sure he doesn't find you ever again. I promise."

"Thank you," Zexion said, smiling a little.

"I've already told you-" Riku said, opening up a portal.

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean I get to be ungrateful."

"Just go," he said quietly, motioning toward the portal.

It took me a minute to realize what they were talking about. Riku had been helping Zexion...but not for his sake. For mine.

"Riku, thank you," I said as Zexion disappeared through the portal. I kissed him on the cheek again, smiling. "You'll find your happiness one day."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, shrugging. I could swear he was grinning at me. "Now get going before Axel gets up."

"Don't have to tell me twice," I laughed, running through the portal.


	9. Chapter 9:  Sarang hae yo

Chapter 9: Sarang hae yo (www . youtube . com/watch?v=2zk2jmwGO-k)

Memo: The title for this one is Korean for "I love you"... I used Korean instead of Japanese because the song I listened to to plan out this chapter is in Korean. (mm, Korean. Like DBSK...) It's by Boa Kwon, mostly known as BoA. Her music inspired this one. :D She actually kind of looks like how I picture Eden... (PS: I made Ienzo's name Italian, cuz that's what it sounds like. XD)

Zexion was the first of the two to step out into the sand and feel the warm breeze against his skin. Palm trees were there to greet him, and not another soul was in sight except for Eden, who followed Zexion out of the portal and stood to his left, saying nothing.

Turning back to ask Riku where he had left them, Zexion saw that the portal had disappeared, leaving them stranded on this random little island. So, left with no other choice, Zexion looked around.

..._I know this place_, he slowly came to realize. _We're on Destiny Islands_. _Never thought I'd see this place again_...

Glancing over at Eden, Zexion sighed through his nose.

_I wonder if he knows where we are_, Eden thought, folding her arms across her chest. She was warm, but she had goosebumps anyway. _What do we do now_?

_Maybe I can find my old house_, Zexion wondered, frowning a bit. _But I doubt my parents came back here after I went to Hollow Bastion_.

Shivering, Zexion closed his eyes. He wasn't cold; it was the sudden recollection of his past that made him nervous like this. This place brought back all of those painful memories that he had tried to repress...and failed to.

Flashback Start~

"Your parents don't come home tonight, right?" Emi said, peering into Ienzo's eyes with her own dark ones.

"Not until tomorrow night," he replied, nodding.

"We should celebrate your weekend of freedom," the brunette insisted, sitting upright on the couch.

"What do you suggest?"

"Dunno. Something fun. Something we've never done before." She stood up, holding out her polished, flawless hand to Ienzo. "C'mon, come explore with me."

It didn't take much exploring to find the Corazza's stash of booze, and Emi didn't hesitate for a moment to steal a bit.

"I have some all the time at home, especially during the holidays," she told him, popping open her can. "My family is more fun with a little bit of booze in their system."

"Are you hoping I'm the same way, then?" Ienzo teased her, tasting his. It was decent.

"Maybe," she practically purred. "I think you'll be even more fun, though, once you've loosened up a bit."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"I have plenty to give."

The next morning, when Ienzo awoke with a terrible hangover, guilt overwhelmed him. Emi was already gone, and she had taken his innocence with her. He had never felt more cheated or tricked in his whole life, or more sick.

"What did i do...?" he gasped, his throat closing up in horror.

He wanted to call his parents, or even one of his friends, and just scream; but he knew he couldn't, so he tried to be realistic. And so for two months, his parents didn't suspect a thing. When they did eventually find him out, it wasn't his attitude or his lack of meetings with Emi-it was their stash of alcohol.

"Ienzo, please, just tell the truth," his mother urged him. "We know you're lying."

"You don't understand!" he shouted, near tears, so ashamed of himself that he wanted to die. "You're going to kill me!"

"If you tell the truth, we promise not to judge you," his father said, staring down his son with his intense navy eyes. "Just be honest, Ienzo."

"..." Giving up, Ienzo collapsed against the nearest wall. "...While you guys were gone, Emi came over."

"And?" his mother prompted.

"...She found it, and we drank it...and-"

"I can see where this is going." His mother shook her head, her straight blonde hair graying by the minute.

"Can I just say it!" Ienzo shouted, falling to the ground. "I had sex with her! We were drunk, and I don't even remember half of what happened! But that's what happened!" He was definitely crying now, like a little boy. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I ever met her! I'm sorry I was ever born!"

His parents, because of their promise, said nothing, only frowned deeply, both angry and concerned as their son laid himself down onto the kitchen tile, wailing.

"I hate myself for doing that!" he sobbed, shaking all over. "I'll never forgive myself for it, and I don't expect you to, either!"

It was quiet for a while, then suddenly the phone rang, interrupting the awkwardness. Since he was the closest, Ienzo picked up.

"Ienzo?" a female's voice asked.

"Speaking," he breathed, trying to regain composure.

"It's Emi."

"What do you want?" he asked rather harshly.

"I hate you!" she cried, sobbing. "I hate you, I hate you!"

"So I've discovered. Mind telling me why?"

"I'm pregnant, you idiot!"

Slowly, Ienzo took the phone away from his ear, paling considerably as Emi's electronic sobs filled the kitchen.

"What's going on?" his father asked.

Without answering, Ienzo stood up and dropped the phone, walking out of the room.

"Ienzo?"

_And all this time, I thought I was blessed to have a model for a girlfriend_, Ienzo thought, walking right through the front door in a daze.

Throughout the next seven months, thing just kept getting worse for Ienzo and his parents. He got so sick, his eye became infected and permanently blinded, and his crafty, manipulative girlfriend kept finding reasons why he owed her munny: child support, clothing, baby stuff at first slowly turned into gas munny, munny for her own clothes, munny she would've made had she still been a model.

"Ienzo-"

Ienzo whirled around at last, still holding the knife he had just been using to cut up carrots for dinner.

"I don't want to hear any more excuses from you, Emi!" he shouted in her face. "If either of us needs to start contributing more, as you put it, it's YOU. I've grown up, I've done work, I took _two jobs _for you! I dropped out of school for your sake! And what do _you_ do? You complain all the time! I can never do enough for you, is that it?"

"Last time I checked, YOU'RE the one who got me into this mess!" Emi shrieked back, glaring at Ienzo. Whatever sense of love there used to be between them had entirely disappeared.

"_Me_? No, I'm just the one who took the blame for it and was HONEST about it!"

"Because you're a COWARD!"

For a moment, Ienzo became so mad, so frustrated, that he lost track of what he was doing. The next thing he knew, his knife was in Emi's stomach.

She didn't scream, but he could see the pain on her face.

_I'm no good_, Ienzo realized. _I just hurt everybody_. _I need to be away from people_.

In a matter of weeks, Ienzo was no longer on Destiny Islands. Emi had survived the incident, but-surprisingly-she said nothing about it to anyone who asked. It seemed she had accomplished what she wanted-she was free of responsibility, and so she could go back to how it was. Ienzo, however, was basically ruined for life.

His parents thought it best to send him to Hollow Bastion to live with the famed scientist, Ansem the Wise. At first he was wary of the idea; he only wanted to be alone. However, on just the first day of his apprenticeship, Ienzo realized something different about these people.

"Hey, kid!" an older man said. He had dark hair and an eyepatch. "I'm Braig. You're Ienzo, aren'tcha, kid?"

"Don't call me kid," Ienzo replied gruffly, resting his chin in his hand.

"Cheer up, kid," Braig continued, ignoring the remark. "I heard about what happened at your old home. You didn't get much of a break, did you?"

"...No."

"Well, trust me, I follow ya. You'll like it here; you're already Ansem's favorite, smarty-pants."

"Enough with the nicknames, would you?"

Braig only laughed, genuinely amused. "Aw, come on, kid. It's only fun and games. Try it out for yourself."

"Would you please just leave me alone!...old man...?" He couldn't resist, and soon he had cracked a smile, the first one he had shown in months.

"Not bad, kid." Braig clapped Ienzo on the back, startling him. "You'll fit in just fine with us here. And, uh, we don't mind the eye." Braig gestured to his own eyepatch. "We all have our faults. Dwelling on them doesn't do any good, though, does it?"

Chuckling quietly to himself, Braig walked away, leaving Ienzo with a new outlook on things.

_Maybe people aren't so bad after all_, he thought, smiling again. _I just had to find the people I belong with in order to be happy_.

Flashback End~

_And then I joined the Organization, and I lost that sense of belonging, even though I was part of a group_, Zexion realized. _I don't remember much after that...until Eden came_.

Glancing at the red-head, Zexion felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach; it traveled up his throat and through his whole body.

_Those memories I won't ever try to forget, no matter how I angry I got_, he determined. _This is my choice. Let's see what she thinks_.

Eden's Pov

I don't know how long we stood there in silence, but I had started a chant in my head.

_Say something_! I repeated over and over. _What are you doing? Why won't you say anything_! My thoughts were directed at him and myself. _Are you having an immense flashback over there or something? Say something, please_!

He never did say anything, but finally, after a really long time of not doing or saying anything, Zexion finally moved. He began to peel off his disgusting, torn-up gloves, revealing pale, tattered hands. Hands that needed to be held.

To my surprise, he simply tossed them aside messily, which I thought was rather unlike him. But then he really surprised me, and slowly he unzipped his Organization robe, which was also a mess. I prayed to whoever was watching over us that he had clothes on underneath.

He did, thankfully. The typical Organization uniform, I assumed: black skinny jeans tucked into black boots, and a tight, spandex-like black sleeveless shirt. I could see that he had cuts on his wrists, and there were still chains around his ankles. His skin was pale, but his muscles were still toned, and I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he tossed his robe aside into the sand. It landed helplessly next to his gloves.

At first I thought I was imagining things when I took a good look at Zexion. He looked back, but I wasn't looking at his face, or his eye. My attention had been captured by four letters on his left shoulder. Taking its time, my brain finally put two and two together.

It was _my name_..."Eden"...that Zexion had cut into his arm. I could tell it was pretty recent, which meant that he had been thinking of me recently.

Startled, probably just then remembering the markings, Zexion looked at his shoulder, then back at me. His eye was asking me a question that I wanted to answer...and I finally could.

I love clothing, and I loved my outfit that day, but nothing was going to stop me anymore. Digging my nails into the seams of the sleeve of my shirt, I pulled as hard as I could. The sleeve tore off surprisingly easily, and soon I had pulled it off, chucking it aside.

Now it was Zexion's turn to be shocked. He stared at my shoulder in disbelief for a few moments, neither of us saying anything at all. We didn't need words. We already had two right there, and there were only three more I actually wanted to say.

Finally, his eye met mine, and his lips cracked just the smallest, more adorable smile I think I've ever seen in my whole life. It sent my heart racing, and soon my feet wanted to race, too. Without hesitating one bit, I tore off my broken shoes, and I sprinted through the sand toward him. I fell right into his open arms, and he caught me. He had been ready for me, just waiting as I had been.

_Where have you been all this time_? I wondered, looking up at Zexion with tears in my eye. He smiled down at me.

The moment his lips met mine, the sweetest feeling welled up in me, so strong that it pushed out all of my tears. My hands grasped his face desperately, and his grip tightened. It was like we were both afraid it was our imaginations messing with us, and that in a moment it would disappear. After all, that was what we were accustomed to.

There's no way I can forget that moment, being able to feel like I had actually found my purpose, a place to belong. Of course, that place wasn't any physical place, which was my mistake from the very beginning, and his, too.

Soon I was crying too hard to keep kissing him, and so he just held me. I knew he understood, I could just tell, even without words.

The breeze blew toward us, and we faced it, the sun beaming down on us as it began to sink behind the horizon. That signified the end of a day, but it also meant the beginning of an eternity.


	10. Chapter 10: The Meaning of Peace:Finale!

Chapter 10: The Meaning of Peace-Finale! (www . youtube . com/watch?v=P2XQaOpXh4w)

Memo: :( I'm torn...I love this story so much, but I think it will have a very good ending. I know it may seem abrupt, but it's not supposed to be completely closed. That's the point. :P

Thank you so much for reading this story; I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have! Until next time, adios! ~Emi Hikari

Eden's Pov

Of course, the beginning of an eternity doesn't come without its speed bumps along the way.

After both of us had-sort of-regained composure, Zexion brought up the point of where we should go next.

"I have a house here," I replied, wiping my eyes. He just looked at me. "I _live_ here! Really!"

"Since when?" he asked, skeptical.

"Only since this past year, since we were separated."

For some reason, he looked relieved.

"...Okay. You lead the way," he said after a pause. I nodded, scooping up my shoes as he picked up his cloak.

"It's not too far from here," I assured him, smiling. He smiled back, and I could tell it was genuine.

We didn't really say anything else, but I didn't feel like the silence was awkward. In fact, I was actually enjoying it; it gave my mind a chance to slow down and think. At one point, though, my hand brushed his, and automatically our fingers interlaced, and whatever brain processes I was having just kind of...stopped.

At one point, on the way to my house, a girl about my age was walking toward us. She was strikingly beautiful, with raven hair that fell to the small of her petite back. Also, she looked rather familiar, and I thought maybe I had seen her around town before, or maybe she was another model like me. I was half-right.

Suddenly I felt Zexion stop, and I did, too, not knowing why. But I took a closer look at the girl, and then it hit me: this girl was his old girlfriend...the one he stabbed. The one he got pregnant.

_Then_ the silence got awkward.

I wasn't sure if Zexion's girlfriend would recognize his new state of life, but she seemed to, because she stopped as well, peering into Zexion's face.

"...Ienzo," she hissed through her teeth. Her pretty face was immediately distorted by her intense anger.

"Emi," Zexion said, sounding so calm that it kind of scared me. It made him sound a little bit psychotic.

I thought Emi, as she was apparently named, might say some unkind things next, or even physically go after Zexion, and my grip on his hand tightened a little. But, to my surprise, she turned to me instead, her dark eyes piercing my own pale ones.

"You're pretty," she decided after looking me over for a moment.

_Hell yes I am_, I thought, but I knew better than to respond.

"...But not as pretty as me."

"Who died and made you God?" I asked her incredulously, frowning. "And why does it matter?"

"Well, whatever." She waved her hand as if swatting my questions away from her prescense. "Point is, this guy is a freak, and he'll take advantage of you."

"A freak, huh? Guess that's why you guys hooked up in the first place."

Yes...the fantabulous comebacks had returned to my brain. Zexion is a bad influence on me...but I don't mind it one bit. (:D)

Emi glared at me, then looked back at Zexion.

"I still have the scar," she told him, lifting her shirt to reveal her stomach. There was, indeed, a large white cut across it.

"Me too," he said, lifting his bangs to reveal his frozen eye.

Okay, maybe we're bad influences on _each other_...

Obviously defeated, Emi stuck her tiny nose up in the air and rushed past us. I laughed quietly.

"You dated _that_?" I asked Zexion, who frowned at me.

"I try to forget, but it never works," he replied, his frown turning into a small smirk.

"C'mon, we're almost there," Eden assured Zexion, tugging on his arm, pulling him forward.

"Am I going to see anyone else I hate?" he complained, following her at last.

"I can't guarantee anything." Eden frowned. "I didn't even know she lived here."

"I used to," Zexion confirmed, nodding.

"Really?"

"Yeah, actually-pretty close to where we are now."

A few moments later, Eden opened the gate to her front yard, and Zexion froze, releasing her hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning to him.

"This is...your house?" he asked slowly, not looking at her.

"Yeah," she replied.

"...This is _my_ house."

Before Eden could say anything in response, Zexion pushed past her, running inside.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, chasing after him.

"Everything is the same!" he called out to her, running from room to room. "Just like how I remember it..."

"Are you serious?" she said, trotting after him, still in her bare feet.

"Eden-"

The two smacked right into each other, causing them both to laugh.

"Ouchies..." Eden murmured through giggles.

"...Eden...I used to live here. In this very house."

"Why is your stuff still here?" she asked, gesturing to the younger boy's room. "And were you seriously that nerdy?"

"My parents sent me to Hollow Bastion after all that crap with Emi happened...and yeah, I was a nerd."

Eden smiled for a moment, then slowly frowned.

"You never told me about what happened with her," she said quietly.

"...I didn't, did I?" Zexion frowned, too. "Please, don't jump to any conclusions. I know what you must've seen, because I saw the same sort of thing with you. But...it's a lot different when you hear what she said. How she acted."

"After meeting her today, I can only imagine," Eden muttered, rolling her eyes.

"She took advantage of me both physically and financially. It was all just a big game for her, and when it didn't go her way, she threw a fit until things were 'right' again." Zexion sighed, walking into the living room. "I'd feel sorry for her, but she has no reason for it. She was spoiled as a child, even with other siblings."

"...Not to scare you, but I had four sisters," Eden piped up, following Zexion.

"That doesn't scare me," he assured her, smiling. "I can see that you're different...far different from her."

"I didn't used to be."

"You are now."

"Because of you," she admitted, blushing a little. He reddened as well.

"...I never thought I'd influence anyone...especially _you_."

"Well, either you're more influential than you thought, or I'm just so stricken with you that I don't know what to do with myself anymore."

"I hope it's the second one."

"Me too."

+A Few Days Later+

Eden's Pov

"Eden~!"

"...Tell your friend that nine is too early..." Zexion murmured into my ear. I groaned, pulling the pillow over my eyes.

"I tried," I admitted, snuggling closer as I pulled the one blanket we had over us even more, tucking it in up to my chin.

From the other side of our front door, I could hear Selphie shouting something over and over, and the moment I comprehended it, my heart began to pound.

"Kairi's back!" she screamed, obviously overjoyed herself.

"Kairi?" I gasped, quickly sitting upright.

"Where is she back from?" Zexion mumbled, eye still closed.

"Axel kidnapped her, remember?"

"Big surprise."

Rolling my eye, I wrenched the blanket off of us, causing Zexion to curl into a tight ball, growling under his breath.

"C'mon, get up!" I exclaimed, sliding out of bed. "This is actually important!"

I didn't bother to fix my hair or anything before I ran outside to hug Selphie. In fact, I was still wearing what I wore to bed. Any other time I would've cared, but I didn't anymore. It all seemed so trivial.

"Hurry!" Selphie urged me, pulling me along as we ran, both bare-footed, down the stony path toward the beach. "See? There she is!"

"Kairi!" I shouted, running over to the red-head, who was lying in the sand, staring up at the sky.

"Eden? Selphie!" she cried, sitting up and looking at us.

The three of us collided with each other in a tight embrace, laughing and kind of crying.

"Did he do anything to you?" I asked, pushing Kairi back and looking her in the eye.

"Who, Axel?" She laughed, her blue eyes glittering mischieviously. "Nah, I got away from him before he could. And then this guy, Saix, caught me, and then Namine helped me escape, and then I found Sora!"

"Namine?" I asked, incredulous. "We've met before, a long time ago."

"Really?" In her reply I think I heard a hint of Namine's voice. "She's my Nobody."

"Is that so..."

"Where's Sora? And Riku?" Selphie asked, curious.

Kairi frowned a little. "I don't know. Namine opened a portal, and when they tried to come through, it closed on them." She shrugged, looking a little more hopeful. "Namine must've known something I didn't. Maybe there was one more thing they had to take care of."

"Well, at least _you're_ safe," I said, smiling.

"You too!" Kairi slapped me playfully on the arm. "You and your grand adventure! Riku said he met you."

"Yeah, we definitely ran into each other a couple of times," I admitted with a smirk.

"Did you find that guy?" Selphie asked, turning to me.

"Yeah, the guy you were looking for?" Kairi eyed me, smiling even broader.

"What guy?"

We all turned to Zexion walking toward us, rubbing his face to wake himself up.

"Ohmigawd," Kairi and Selphie said in unison, looking at me.

"That's him?" Selphie asked, her voice so high-pitched a dog started barking.

"Yeah," I answered modestly, blushing.

"You're Kairi?" Zexion asked, looking at my ginger friend. She nodding, grinning. I saw her glance quickly at me.

"Yeah. You must be Zexion," she said, her voice containing laughter. "We heard a lot about you."

"A lot," Selphie agreed. I kicked her in the back of her knee, causing her to lose her balance and fall.

"Have you?" Zexion looked at me, amused, and I blushed.

"Kairi? Do you see that?" Selphie said suddenly, pointing toward the sky. There was a little light falling into the ocean.

"Someone else coming to this world?" Kairi murmured.

"You think?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion. It didn't look like what I had imagined or what Kairi had described.

"No...it's not." Kairi, without any warning, suddenly bolted toward the small boat dock, grabbing the oars of her own.

"Where are you going?" Selphie asked, chasing after her.

"It's them!" she cried. "Sora and Riku!"

"...Should we follow them?" Zexion asked me, watching as Selphie jumped into Kairi's boat.

"Why not? I kind of want to meet this Sora kid..."

+A Few Months Later+

"Don't be mad, don't be mad," Eden chanted under her breath, pacing around the living room. Her arms were wrapped almost instinctively around her stomach, and she was doing her best to hold back tears.

"He can't be mad," she said, sitting down. "He can't be... But what if he is?" She stood back up again, her throat closing up. This happened again several more times before the front door finally opened.

"Eden...?" Zexion murmured, looking at his inamorata, who glanced at him, teary-eyed, then abruptly sat down on the couch. "What's wrong?" he asked, rushing over to her after closing the front door. "What happened?"

"...I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, bursting into tears. "I'm sorry! You're going to be so upset! I didn't want things to be like this for you...again."

"It might be better if you told me what the hell you're talking about."

"Sorry..." Eden wiped her eye, but it proved to be pointless, only bringing forth more tears. "...I'm sorry. This is my fault."

"What is?" Zexion asked, getting a little frustrated.

"...I'm pregnant. I'm sorry. This is just like what happened to you before. I'm just like that psycho bitch! I'm sorry-!"

"Shut up," Zexion told her, covering her mouth with his hand. "You're getting hysterical." He took a deep breath, then took his hand away. "You're not like Emi...at all. She called me an idiot and blamed everything on me, then proceeded to take all of my munny and time from me. And unless that's your master plan here, trust me, you're not anything like her, okay?"

"...I don't think I can handle this," she admitted, pressing a hand to her cheek. "I'm the most selfish person I know. How can I love something else more than me?"

"Well, what about me?"

"You're different. The exception." Eden shook her head quickly, hair falling down from the bun piled on top of her head. "I'm sorry. I'm just really...afraid."

"...You know what? ...I'm done." Zexion stood up, and Eden looked at him, mouth agape.

"What?" she squeaked, her one eye widening in sheer terror. "No, you can't just leave me."

"No, no, that's not what I mean," Zexion said quickly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, that was tactless. What I mean is...I'm done being afraid of everything. It feels like I've been afraid my whole life. I was always afraid of people, and being judged, and growing up, and the list just keeps going on. I feel like...I never got over that fear until we met, and I didn't really care what you thought about me at first."

He smirked at her, and she couldn't help but crack a smile, too.

"And now all of this has happened, and things are obviously a lot different than they used to be, and here we are, afraid? Isn't that kind of stupid? Shouldn't we be celebrating? Yeah, I guess it's okay to be afraid sometimes, but...I don't know. I'm tired of worrying about everything, especially things I can't control. Aren't you?"

To his surprise, Eden laughed.

"Are you disagreeing with me?" he asked.

"No...not at all." She smiled again. "It's just...I think you spend too much time around Sora and Riku."

"Hardly. Sora is the most obnoxious person I have ever met."

"...I can't disagree." Eden shrugged, sighing. "Anyway, I agree with you. I was always afraid of the same things you were, but instead of hiding in my fear, I blinded myself to it, which is even worse. Maybe...maybe now is the best time to start being brave."

Bowing her head, Eden smiled for the third time, looking at the tiny little fibers in the carpet. Tears blurred her vision after a while.

"I guess...all of us have to be brave," she began, looking up at Zexion, who smiled at her. "Especially for someone else."

"Definitely for someone else," he quietly agreed, kissing her on the cheek.

_Always for someone else_, she realized, closing her eyes.

The end. 3


End file.
